By Kate Huneke, Senior Editor
One of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, Haiti in recent years has struggled with problems ranging from near-constant political upheaval, health crises, severe environmental degradation and an annual barrage of hurricanes, which killed an estimated 800 people and caused vast damage in 2008. On Jan. 12, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, reducing much of its capital to rubble. It was the worst earthquake in the region in more than 200 years, with as many as 50,000 feared dead. The devastation created serious obstacles to those attempting to deliver promised foreign aid. The country is, by a significant margin, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, with four out of five people living in poverty and more than half in abject poverty. Deforestation and over-farming have left much of Haiti eroded and barren, undermining subsistence farming efforts, driving up food prices and leaving the country even more vulnerable to natural disasters. Its long history of political instability and corruption has added to the turmoil.
Now that a week has gone by since the devastating earthquake in Haiti and aid is finally reaching those who need it, more groups and nonprofits have mobilized to continue to raise money for recovery as relief efforts continue. The list below is still the most comprehensive resource of organizations helping in Haiti. This update contains several new groups and fundraisers that make it easy to give:
-Music For Relief is offering a compilation of unreleased music, available for free download on MusicForRelief.org. The site encourages donations, which will be divided equally among the United Nations Foundation, Habitat For Humanity, and Dave Matthews Band's BAMA Works Haitian relief program.
-National Nurses United already has 10,000 nurses volunteering to go to Haiti, but they need to raise money to send them there. Every dollar donated to NNU will be spent directly on sending a professional nurse to Haiti.
-Artists For Peace and Justice is a relatively new organization with an advisory board of prominent celebrity activists, including Maria Bello, Madeleine Stowe, Charlize Theron, Oliver Stone and Josh Brolin. Founded by filmmaker Paul Haggis, the group originally sought to help build functional schools in impoverished regions in Haiti. Since the earthquake, they've directed all of their funds to recovery efforts, with a focus on helping to rebuild schools, hospitals and orphanages.
-K.I.D.S., or Kids In Distressed Situations, is delivering clothes, diapers, and water and is asking for cash donations as well as product gifts. To inquire about necessary items you can give, contact K.I.D.S. president Janice Weinman at 212-279-5493 x207.
-Healing The Children has firm commitments from numerous pediatric hospitals throughout the U.S. to provide medical care for over 50 children injured in the Haiti earthquake. They will organize and navigate the medical system for the children and provide a host family to offer the children the love and security they need during their treatment
My Shadow
by Lauren Smith, staff writer
There is a little dark thing that follows me around,
But sometimes I forget he’s there because he doesn’t make a sound.
Sometimes he’s ten times taller than me when the sun is low
But when there’s not much light at all he doesn’t even show!
Sometimes he leads me to where I’m going, sometimes he trails behind.
We get there and we act the same- we’re both either mean or kind.
My shadow is my very best friend, I’ll always count on him.
He cheers me up by mirroring me when I’m feeling grim.
I tell him he’s a copycat, he’s silent in reply.
I guess he’s trying to stop a fight. He’s a pretty good guy.
My shadow is my buddy, my shadow is my friend.
But I’m afraid my shadow’s out to bug me ‘till the end.
The Service Work of Tim Strong
By Julia Wu, Staff Writer
Tim Strong, a brave and generous man, took his skills to help people in Africa. He has traveled and had many adventures in Sub-Saharan Africa, but also in parts of East and Equatorial West Africa. Over the past five years, he has worked in Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and South Africa. In particular, he has most enjoyed Malawi and Ethiopia because of the friendships he has made there. He has switched around with different programs, projects, and organizations. Primarily, he worked with Christian non-profits, but eventually started working in the United States Peace Corps, and several Micro-finance programs. Tim is currently working for the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative. The majority of his work has been Agricultural Development and Forestry Protection, but now has a project manager positions for Infrastructure Development. One of his crazy experiences was working with hippos and elephants. Tim’s first task was called, " The Elephant Conflict.” He had to make a solution so that forest reserve's elephants stayed out of farmers' fields. Tim had many different approaches, one of which was electric fences, although they weren’t successful because elephants would promptly turn around backwards and kick them over. Finally they subsidized firecrackers, which the farmers would throw at the elephants at night. He noted that it wasn’t his favorite solution, but it was successful and the farmers could continue harvesting their crops without disturbance. His current project is installing water and sanitation measures at a school in Ghana. Tim has been able to install septic systems, showers, sinks and toilets! It seems pretty silly from our perspective, but Ghana really lacks clean water. If you were to put on their shoes, walking in the streets and seeing open sewer systems, you would certainly agree! Tim has also been offered a job for next year coordinating the development of all the health clinics in Machinga District in Malawi. Tim stated The Clinton Foundation has a memorandum of understanding with the Malawian Ministry of Health to renovate all their clinics as well as installing facilities for treating HIV/AIDS. It’s a huge commitment, and he is honored to do so. As Tim travels around different environments, he finds that the living style changes with each culture. With the Peace Corps Tim lived in a grass and mud hut and ate what he grew. Now, things are a little more up-scale, sometimes electricity is available. He normally has running water and lives in relatively urban environments. Because of this, his work demands are a lot higher, and he doesn’t get to live life in the village anymore. In the Peace Corps the majority of the time he rode a bike or hitchhiked. He did learn sometimes it felt a lot safer in a stranger's car than in a rickety mini bus that pumps exhaust into the car and makes your eyes sting. He also enjoyed walking. Adding to his wild adventures in Africa he has eaten flies, termites, and mice! Tim lived in a very rural area. It was about a two-hour bike ride through the mountains from the road-to-road beyond the trading center where they had electricity. Tim had a small solar charger for his phone and radio, but if he got tired of eating corn and soy all the time, he could bike in to that trading center to buy supplies like soap, rice, and even some fresh goat meat! Tim has changed lives in Africa solving problems such as the elephants, giving them access to water, or being a good friend.
Tim Strong, a brave and generous man, took his skills to help people in Africa. He has traveled and had many adventures in Sub-Saharan Africa, but also in parts of East and Equatorial West Africa. Over the past five years, he has worked in Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and South Africa. In particular, he has most enjoyed Malawi and Ethiopia because of the friendships he has made there. He has switched around with different programs, projects, and organizations. Primarily, he worked with Christian non-profits, but eventually started working in the United States Peace Corps, and several Micro-finance programs. Tim is currently working for the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative. The majority of his work has been Agricultural Development and Forestry Protection, but now has a project manager positions for Infrastructure Development. One of his crazy experiences was working with hippos and elephants. Tim’s first task was called, " The Elephant Conflict.” He had to make a solution so that forest reserve's elephants stayed out of farmers' fields. Tim had many different approaches, one of which was electric fences, although they weren’t successful because elephants would promptly turn around backwards and kick them over. Finally they subsidized firecrackers, which the farmers would throw at the elephants at night. He noted that it wasn’t his favorite solution, but it was successful and the farmers could continue harvesting their crops without disturbance. His current project is installing water and sanitation measures at a school in Ghana. Tim has been able to install septic systems, showers, sinks and toilets! It seems pretty silly from our perspective, but Ghana really lacks clean water. If you were to put on their shoes, walking in the streets and seeing open sewer systems, you would certainly agree! Tim has also been offered a job for next year coordinating the development of all the health clinics in Machinga District in Malawi. Tim stated The Clinton Foundation has a memorandum of understanding with the Malawian Ministry of Health to renovate all their clinics as well as installing facilities for treating HIV/AIDS. It’s a huge commitment, and he is honored to do so. As Tim travels around different environments, he finds that the living style changes with each culture. With the Peace Corps Tim lived in a grass and mud hut and ate what he grew. Now, things are a little more up-scale, sometimes electricity is available. He normally has running water and lives in relatively urban environments. Because of this, his work demands are a lot higher, and he doesn’t get to live life in the village anymore. In the Peace Corps the majority of the time he rode a bike or hitchhiked. He did learn sometimes it felt a lot safer in a stranger's car than in a rickety mini bus that pumps exhaust into the car and makes your eyes sting. He also enjoyed walking. Adding to his wild adventures in Africa he has eaten flies, termites, and mice! Tim lived in a very rural area. It was about a two-hour bike ride through the mountains from the road-to-road beyond the trading center where they had electricity. Tim had a small solar charger for his phone and radio, but if he got tired of eating corn and soy all the time, he could bike in to that trading center to buy supplies like soap, rice, and even some fresh goat meat! Tim has changed lives in Africa solving problems such as the elephants, giving them access to water, or being a good friend.
Sun Bowl Wrap-up
By Michael Shames, Contributing Writer
Oklahoma 31 Stanford 27
It was a very close game. There were 5 lead changes. No one had more than a 10 point lead. Landry Jones, the Sooner’s QB was the clear MVP of the game. He was 30-51 for 418 yards and 3 touchdowns. That’s pretty good for a guy who was supposed to play behind a Heisman Trophy Winner all year. The opposing Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard was 8 for 19 for 117 yards with 2 interceptions. You can’t really blame him though. He was behind Andrew Luck the whole year and when he actually played, Toby Gerhart would get the ball. In the Sun Bowl Gerhart had 132 yards on 32 carries. Stanford exceeded their expectations for the year by ending the year ranked and getting into a bowl game. Oklahoma can be proud with their win against the #21 Stanford Cardinal.
Boise’s Shot at History
By Joe Klein, Senior Staff Writer
Boise St. is at it’s best a couple weeks after a 17-10 upset victory in the Fiesta Bowl over #3 TCU. Led by Sophmore QB Kellen Moore, the Broncos went 14-0 and ended 4th in the BCS and AP Rankings. The Broncos averaged 460 yards and 27 ppg, and showed some defense in victories over TCU and Pac-10 Champion Oregon. They will return 21 of 22 starters (they will only miss a CB) and they should go unbeaten. Reported by ESPN, if the Broncos end in the top 2, they will go to the BCS National Championship. Originally, Boise St. was a stop for young coaches who went on to coach BCS caliber teams. Now, all that has changed. Coach Chris Petersen has signed a 5 year extension with the Broncos, with an option for 2016. That said, the Broncos will play Oregon St, and will also play Virginia Tech. Here is their 2010 schedule as of right now;
Week 1 vs. Toledo; Week 2 at Wyoming; Week 3 vs. Oregon St.; Week 4 vs. Virginia Tech
Expect a National Championship appearance.
Boise St. is at it’s best a couple weeks after a 17-10 upset victory in the Fiesta Bowl over #3 TCU. Led by Sophmore QB Kellen Moore, the Broncos went 14-0 and ended 4th in the BCS and AP Rankings. The Broncos averaged 460 yards and 27 ppg, and showed some defense in victories over TCU and Pac-10 Champion Oregon. They will return 21 of 22 starters (they will only miss a CB) and they should go unbeaten. Reported by ESPN, if the Broncos end in the top 2, they will go to the BCS National Championship. Originally, Boise St. was a stop for young coaches who went on to coach BCS caliber teams. Now, all that has changed. Coach Chris Petersen has signed a 5 year extension with the Broncos, with an option for 2016. That said, the Broncos will play Oregon St, and will also play Virginia Tech. Here is their 2010 schedule as of right now;
Week 1 vs. Toledo; Week 2 at Wyoming; Week 3 vs. Oregon St.; Week 4 vs. Virginia Tech
Expect a National Championship appearance.
A Replicator Onboard the ISS
By Christopher Cassidy, Science Editor
As the cost of transporting just a small screw into space is incredible and rapidly increasing, more permanent measures have taken place, in form of a mini-replicator (not quite as good as the one in Star Trek, but the fact that they have it is pretty incredible). Though it doesn’t work like the energy→matter synthesizer on the Enterprise, it still makes us feel a step closer to having that ability. You’re probably dying to know what I’m talking about now. It works like a 3-D printer, just not as much inkjet as a real 3-D printer. In the new sort-of replicator, an electron beam melts a feed stick (this can be any meltable material; whatever you want to make something out of) and it lays down the falling liquid in a precise, computer-oriented pattern that eventually turns into any part the computer is programmed to make. This way, you don’t have to ferry up random parts in an expensive shuttle flight. This puts us closer to the more efficient raw-matter replication process, and will make space exploration much cheaper and provide more conveniences for astronauts.
As the cost of transporting just a small screw into space is incredible and rapidly increasing, more permanent measures have taken place, in form of a mini-replicator (not quite as good as the one in Star Trek, but the fact that they have it is pretty incredible). Though it doesn’t work like the energy→matter synthesizer on the Enterprise, it still makes us feel a step closer to having that ability. You’re probably dying to know what I’m talking about now. It works like a 3-D printer, just not as much inkjet as a real 3-D printer. In the new sort-of replicator, an electron beam melts a feed stick (this can be any meltable material; whatever you want to make something out of) and it lays down the falling liquid in a precise, computer-oriented pattern that eventually turns into any part the computer is programmed to make. This way, you don’t have to ferry up random parts in an expensive shuttle flight. This puts us closer to the more efficient raw-matter replication process, and will make space exploration much cheaper and provide more conveniences for astronauts.
Our Future of Energy: The Way the Universe Does It
By Christopher Cassidy, Science Editor
Another Earth-friendly power source that appears in science fiction is coming closer to reality: nuclear fusion. While the benefits are well known, the problems are daunting. Fusion reactors (if/when made) have 1000 times more output than uranium reactors, and do not create any radioactive waste, only non-polluting helium. Now, to fuse two hydrogen isotopes, they need to be held together for one second at 40 million degrees Kelvin and contained to harness the energy. How to contain this massive reaction, (1000 atomic bombs worth of energy) is a difficult task. Currently, magnetic fields are under research, but haven’t been able to contain the reaction. The world’s most powerful laser is going to be used to fuse the nuclei together, annihilating a neutron in the process. While a power source is the most practical aspect of this project, scientists also would like to observe the fusion process, being the source of energy in the sun. A “star on Earth” is being planned for fusion research.
Another Earth-friendly power source that appears in science fiction is coming closer to reality: nuclear fusion. While the benefits are well known, the problems are daunting. Fusion reactors (if/when made) have 1000 times more output than uranium reactors, and do not create any radioactive waste, only non-polluting helium. Now, to fuse two hydrogen isotopes, they need to be held together for one second at 40 million degrees Kelvin and contained to harness the energy. How to contain this massive reaction, (1000 atomic bombs worth of energy) is a difficult task. Currently, magnetic fields are under research, but haven’t been able to contain the reaction. The world’s most powerful laser is going to be used to fuse the nuclei together, annihilating a neutron in the process. While a power source is the most practical aspect of this project, scientists also would like to observe the fusion process, being the source of energy in the sun. A “star on Earth” is being planned for fusion research.
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