Page 3 Eve The Lion’s Eye March 31, 2010 on Campus The Penn State Haiti School by Eileen Fresta - Lion 5 Eye Guest Columnist - emf5187@psu.edu Penn State University students are no strangers to philanthropy, raising millions of dollars for charity annually through sheer hard work and determination. The students of Dr. Goldschmidt’s Honors Civic Engage- ment class are no different. This year’s focus?--replacing the school supplies of an elementary school in Haiti that was destroyed in the recent earthquake. This is an impor- tant project because the destruction of entire communities has impacted the security and. stability of Haiti’s children. We’ve all seen the photos of the terrible devastation in Haiti, and of particular note is the suffering and loss in the eyes of the children. We have it within our means to lessen their suffering in a small way, and at the same time provide a measure of stability in their lives by donating badly needed school supplies. Remember the fun of opening a new box of brightly colored crayons, and the feel of a brand new notebook with its crisp white sheets of paper? Add a rainbow pad of construction paper, glue, and a pair of scissors, and the results are magical! What a great opportunity to give Haitian children the tools to dream again, to envision things beyond the destruction around them. Sadly, “some of Haiti’s devastated communities are so far removed from the larger cities that the residents are only now beginning to receive assistance from the outside world, and a box of colored markers may be far beyond their { reach. Unfortunately, these simple, every- day needs of children can be overlooked in a disaster. UNICEF Education Chief Maria Lourdes de Vera notes that, “In times of emergencies, concerns of children are not given enough prominence. From the point of view of children, what they need is normalcy. We need to ensure that they have creative experiences. That’s their world. Without it, their world crumbles.” : We can help stop their world from crumbling further. The school supplies we send can allow them to express themselves creatively once again, and the students of Dr. Goldschmidt’s Honors Civic Engagement class are committed to providing these es- sentials for at least one elementary school in Haiti. Many people have already begun to forget the crisis in Haiti. As the weeks have passed, our attention may have moved on to more current issues; there is always a need for help somewhere in the world. We cannot let our attention shift away from the people of Haiti. Their needs are still so desperate that we must not turn our backs on them. Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world, and their troubles are now compound- ed by the monumental task of rebuilding. Sending school supplies is important, and something within our means to accomplish. ‘We are determined not to fail in this under- taking. It is too important that we remember the needs of the children of Haiti. We have planned several on-campus fundraisers at the Brandywine campus during the week of April 5-9. We have also part- nered with Wal-Mart in Exton to actively engage the local community. We will be holding a pretzel and soda sale outside the Exton Wal-Mart on Saturday and Sunday, April 10 and 11, to raise money for the pur- chase of school supplies. We encourage you to participate in our effort to make a better world for one group of school children in desperate need. This article, written by Penn State Brandywine student Eileen Fresta, was voluntarily written and published by the Lion’s Eye. We want to hear what you have to say! If you have opinions about what’s going on around campus or in the world as a whole, let us know. Guest editori- als can be sent to Editor-in- Chief Christina Felizzi, at clf5050@psu.edu, for consideration. From the Desk of SGA By Samantha Garcia - Lions Eye Staff Writer - Sng5080@psu.edu SGA is currently working on events that will be happen- ing during Spring Week (April 26 — April 30). Several ideas and activities are underway and there should be some very exciting events taking place outside dur- ing the last week of classes in the Spring 2010 Semester. SGA is in the process of working out some kinks in the budgeting costs, and is trying to figure out in what events students on campus are most likely to participate. SGA is open to suggestions, but please, within reason. | SGA’s next Sound Off will be taking place on April 5th during Common Hour. Weather permitting, this Sound Off will take place outside. If the weather 1s not pleasing the Sound Off will take place in the Lion’s Den, as usual. SGA encourages people to come to the next SGA Sound Off, where some exciting announce- ments will be made, and there will also be a word from some of the SGA board members. If you have suggestions regarding Spring Week, or questions about it, please bring them to the infor- mation session and, as always, the SGA members will do their best to provide you with answers. Photo coutesy of ma. Dpsu.edu
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