Forum to address tsunami's impact, ways to donate

Although students might feel far removed from the tsunami's impact, it has sparked a longing in the IU community to comprehend the disaster.\nA forum from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today in Alumni Hall of the Indiana Memorial Union will address the scientific, social, political and humanitarian implications of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The event, titled "Indian Ocean Tsunami and Humanitarian Response: A Campus-Community Forum," is intended to kickoff the IU relief effort for the disaster that has claimed more than 150,000 lives in 11 Southeast Asian and African nations.\nRoughly one dozen local and campus charity groups have booked tables at a reception after the forum in the Solarium of the IMU to advertise their tsunami relief fund-raising efforts. \n"The forum will be the centerpiece of the campus relief effort," said Melanie Castillo-Cullather, the director of the Asian Culture Center and one of the organizers of the event. "We think that the goal of this forum is to motivate contributions of time, money and effort over the long and short term to help the disaster relief efforts."\nThe forum will begin with opening remarks by IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis and Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan.\n"The mayor feels it is important to take part in this educational forum because the devastation caused by the tsunami is a global crisis," said Bloomington Communications Director Maria K. Heslin. "He wants to do all he can to help increase awareness locally of the tremendous need for financial donations to humanitarian organizations at this time."\nBefore discussion begins, the Rev. Rebecca Jiménez of the Center for University Ministry will lead audience and panelists in a moment of silence to honor the victims of the tsunami.\nThe forum is broken into four parts. The first section features experts who will discuss issues aimed at helping increase the understanding of the disaster.\nMichael Hamburger, a professor for the Department of Geological Sciences and one of the event's organizers, will speak about the geological perspective of the earthquake and tsunami. Margaret Sutton, an associate professor of education, will discus the social aspects of the disaster in Indonesia. \nVisiting Weil Journalism Professor Sandeep Junnarkar will talk about the media coverage surrounding the tsunami. He said his presentation will focus on the way the disaster has been covered by the media, the need to have expert journalists in the field to deal with the complex social and political issues in the affected regions and the importance of continuing media coverage in a world where its attention span is increasingly short.\nHe will also present his view that the outpouring of relief money from western nations has increased because so many western tourists were affected by the tsunami. Westerners are able to identify with the tourists more than the natives, he said. \n"That's kind of controversial, but I think it's true," Junnarkar said.\nThe final speaker in the first section will be Peter Kovach, the director of the Bureau of Southeast Asia and Pacific Affairs of the U.S. Department of State Office of Press and Public Diplomacy. He will discuss the U.S. government's perspective of the disaster response. \nA panel discussion will follow the presentations featuring Patrick O'Meara, the dean of international programs, Sumit Ganguly, the director of the India Studies Program, and Maria Montessori, a professor at the State University of Padang in West Sumatra, Indonesia.\nMaria Carrasquillo, the director of emergency services at the Monroe County branch of the American Red Cross, will speak about the things the community and students can do to help the tsunami victims. \nThe culmination of the event is the reception after the discussions where charitable groups use the momentum from the night's discussions to jump-start their fund-raising programs.\n"The end of this forum is the really important part," said Hamburger. \nHe said he hopes the event will motivate students and members of the community to get involved in relief efforts.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Michael Zennie at mzennie@indiana.edu.