On the four-week mark since Hurricane Katrina hit land, Rita's damage and ongoing relief efforts across the Gulf are quickly fading from our attention. These two storms have passed, but we're right in the eye of the reconstruction. The efforts of Ball State University students and staff to help the region, therefore, cannot yet run dry.
These relief efforts are more dramatic than anything we can imagine. The entire Gulf region will have to be cleared out and rebuilt in many places - and even then the area might never completely recover.
Brave individuals from Ball State have ventured south to offer their bare hands in assistance, and dedicated individuals and campus organizations have conducted some fund-raising efforts.
There have been concerts and booths, but there's more we can do: Our spirit for giving must also endure with the same tenacity as the residents of the Gulf.
As yet, there has been no single, large-scale event for all students and staff - and maybe even Muncie community members +â-¡- to contribute to relief efforts. This campus is at its best when the entire force of the university community gets behind a single cause, and every individual contribution adds up to a major donation.
The Daily News challenges any campus organization or conglomeration of organizations to set up a large campus-wide event to support relief efforts. They could charge minimal fees for games or food, gather canned goods and clothing for victims or get more creative than that.
For our part, the Daily News will give space to publicize any large-scale, university-sanctioned event put on to raise money for relief efforts.
In the wake of such widespread and profound destruction, there truly is something everyone can do - and keep doing, until it's all cleaned up.
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