Students Rally to Help Victims of the Sichuan Earthquake

Christine Clark | May 27, 2008

Students held a donation drive on Library Walk.

Students from the Chinese American Student Association joined forces with the Chinese Union and other groups to raise more than $10,000 to help victims of the Sichuan Earthquake last week at UC San Diego.

Students organized donation drives on Library Walk, said David Ouyang, Chinese American Student Association president-elect. They will continue to hold drives this week and will put on a photo exhibit showcasing images from the disaster.

"All the organizations have received so much support,” Ouyang said. “Students have been volunteering their time and donating generously.”

The earthquake, which struck the Sichuan Province May 12, was one of the worst tremors to hit China in more than 50 years and it has since claimed the lives of at least 60,000 people. More than 300,000 were injured and 20,000 people are still unaccounted for.

Ouyang and several other students endured the chilly temperatures and rainy weather Friday to raise funds for the victims. "I missed work today to come here," he said. "There are still a lot of people who need help and as a Chinese American student I felt it was my duty to help my fellow countrymen."

Jianjian Gao’s family was not directly affected by the quake, but he has volunteered at donation drives and attended candlelight vigils for the past two weeks. “We want to do our part to raise awareness about the victims," he said. "I have been really touched to see all the different Chinese groups come together to help." Gao, who hails from China’s Jiangsu Province, has attended UC San Diego for the past two years and is a member of the Chinese Student and Scholars Association.

Adam Jia, a UC San Diego alum and co-founder of the Chinese Union student organization, volunteered at the donation drive Friday. Although he already has graduated, he said he wanted to assist current students. He was instrumental in initiating the donation drives.

"This is disaster is devastating," he said. "But it has really brought a lot of people together to help China."

Students accept donations for earthquake victims.

A number of other Chinese ethnic organizations at UC San Diego also have been active in the relief effort, including the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, Still Thoughts Association and the Hong Kong Student Union. At the donation drives, they held up poster boards with images depicting the disaster and sang songs to commemorate the victims in China.

In addition, volunteers approached local Chinese businesses and went to classrooms to ask for donations. Students also raised awareness on the Web by creating Facebook groups and circulating YouTube videos that documented the earthquake and its aftermath.

Dulce Dorado, an International Center senior student advisor, said she was moved by the drives. Dorado said the impact from the quake especially can be felt on campus because about 15 percent of UC San Diego’s international students and scholars are from China.

"Students are in the middle of studying for finals near the end of the quarter,” she said. “It would be easy for them to move on with their lives, so it is touching to see them putting in their time and effort to help."