Lend a Helping Hand

Okay, I had no idea that Katrina was going to be so huge. The weekend before I moved up to school, all the news said was that Katrina was this little bitty tropical storm and big-whoop-it's-hurricane-season-in-the-Gulf-Coast. Next thing I know (after a few days without TV or news access), Utah State's first football game is canceled because of Hurricane Katrina (we were supposed to play Nicholls State, which is in Louisiana, but they evacuated their campus, so no game). I finally picked up a newspaper and read about how Katrina was the worst natural disaster in US history and how all these people from New Orleans have been shipped to military bases all over the nation (including Camp Williams here in Utah) and all the other stuff that you've probably read about.

Anyway, to my point, when in tough times, people love to help out. For example, The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet have started a campaign to raise funds for Katrina victims in the name of Harry Potter fans. It's called Potter Fans for Katrina Victims and here's a link to the post on TLC: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/MTarchives/007527.php

Also, I just read in the paper that the upcoming Utah-USU game will feature aid to Katrina victims. A pre-game Family Fun Day will take place on Saturday on the Marriott Library Plaza in Salt Lake City from 4-6 pm and a post-game party from 9-midnight at the same place. It's $3 to get in and all the proceeds go directly to the American Red Cross. Nearly 1,000 student volunteers have signed up to help. Salt Lake Community College cosmetology students are holding "Cut for a Cause" on Thursday where you can get a haircut, manicure, and pedicure for $2 and the money goes to the Red Cross. Utah State students (including yours truly) together have donated over $600 just by throwing dollars and change here and there into collecting jars around campus and it just keeps coming in.

My point is that when our fellow human beings are in need of our help, generally speaking, we put aside politics and the finger pointing and help people get through this in any way we can. And we so totally rock for it.

One quick rant: for those who just have to have somebody to blame, I ask that you give it a rest and put your energies toward something more productive. Quit asking whose fault it is because at this point, it just doesn't matter. Maybe later when we're al back into our old habits or "I'm-right-and-you're-wrong" we can have our fun little arguments. I'm not saying don't look at the situation and learn how we can avoid something like this in the future, in fact, I strongly advocate that. But don't pin the blame on any one person because we've all had to go through that in recent events, and quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

That being said, my prayers and thoughts are with those affected by this disaster. Keep working thorugh it 'cause it'll get better!

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat