Absence of concern for Japan crisis

March 11, 2011: An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 hit the eastern coast of Japan destroying the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant and causing a tsunami that produced 30-foot waves. Around 14,300 people are confirmed dead and more than 11,000 people are unaccounted for.

People all over the world are doing something to help Japan, so the big question is this: what is Georgia College doing to help? After the disaster occurred in Haiti, students were quick to aid the fallen country by hosting a benefit concert and dodgeball tournament, but Georgia College students appear to be eerily silent this time around.

Junior mass communication major Sean Noah, whose father was in Japan when the earthquake hit, tried to think of some reasons why students so far have not taken that initial step in aiding Japan.

“Georgia College has helped with other things, so why not help with Japan?” Noah asked. “Maybe students have found that the situation is out of their hands and they can’t do anything about it.”

Junior mass communication major Michelle Mercer, is one of the few students that decided to step forth and take action.

“Global Business Student Leaders Association has recently had sessions for awareness as well as set up a table on campus for donations,” Mercer said. “We intend to work towards having awareness events to aid Japan and perhaps find better ways to increase donations around campus. There will definitely be more to come in the future.”

Despite Mercer’s initiative, students still seem confused about what they can do to help. Places like The GIVE Center normally push students in the right direction when it comes to relief efforts, but so far nothing has been done.

Kendall Stiles, director of The GIVE Center, is open for any ideas that students have about assisting Japan, but she needs students to come to The GIVE Center and inquire.

“What we support is what the students want to do and support,” Stiles said. “The GIVE Center is a resource to what students want to do in and for our community. I know that different groups have done different things in the past for disasters and relief efforts, but I’m not sure why no one has done or said anything about Japan.”

The media’s coverage of Japan could be one reason why students have not felt the need to help. Yuka Takemoto, a senior early childhood education major whose family lives in Tokyo, feels like the media may have put too much emphasis on other things during the time of the disaster.

“Some things get more precedent over the disaster in the media so maybe it didn’t seem as big of a deal to people,” Takemoto said.

Mercer also feels like the media has a lot to do with students’ apathy. The disaster in Japan is not being covered as much as the disaster in Haiti. This may be why so many people felt compelled to help with Haiti but not so much with Japan, according to Mercer.

“Perhaps it is because we know Japan to be such a self-sufficient people, up-to-date on the latest technology, that we don’t hear more about it,” Mercer said. “Maybe we also assume that they don’t need our help due to this idea.  I also don’t think that we are getting as much on this story due to their distance. Maybe a blind eye is turned when distance is a factor, as if we can pretend they don’t exist simply because they are not in sight.”

Mercer believes that since we are all connected in some way, people need to start doing everything they can to help those in need. In some way or another, the earthquake in Japan is affecting everyone.

“It only takes one hand reaching out to do something great, and we’ve got over 12,000 of them. As a Georgia College body, we could change the world for Japan,” Mercer said.

Posted by Anna Morris on Apr 28 2011. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.