As the Marquette community resumes classes for another semester, students, faculty and staff members should keep in mind that the less fortunate members of the world community are still with us.

The Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed between 150,000 and 250,000 people, should be viewed by the Marquette community as an opportunity to be a critical difference for the world. A partnership of donations established by the Wisconsin Province of the Jesuits has so far raised $53,000 for the survivors of the tsunami in addition to direct contributions from the Province itself. The funds are being channeled through the Jesuit Refugee Service, which will provide backing for Jesuit missionaries already on the ground in the stricken region.

The direct response from Marquette, while hampered by winter break, should be no less than overwhelming, especially as U.S. military involvement in the region winds to a conclusion later this year. The civilian aspect of the relief operation will require a continuous stream of monetary donations by governments, international organizations and individuals in order to counteract the long-term effects of the disaster. It's an easy way to counteract some of the widespread resentment of the United States after the Iraq war.

We applaud the actions of the Wisconsin Province and also the plans for collecting and contributing relief funds currently being coordinated by the university to direct student organizations to the Jesuit Refugee Service via the Wisconsin Province. We are disappointed to hear that though the plan to direct monetary funds to the JRS is in place, there have been relatively few callers to find out where funds could be sent.

An issue with as large a scale as the tsunami disaster resonates across boundaries to all people of the world. While the contributions of a select grouping of students at a distant university in the middle of the continent may seem insignificant when compared to the large-scale operations of the U.S. military and the proposed $350 million funding package, it is the responsibility of those who are so blessed to provide for the less fortunate in society. It is also the calling of the Jesuit student to serve the world, whether through contributions to the Darfur region of Sudan, or volunteer work at more local crises, like the California mudslides.

These and other community issues will take on a new importance when the university's Mission Week begins next week. While the issues involved with the week are emphasized with speakers and other events for seven days, they are year-round issues and thus deserve year-round attention.

We look forward to increased donations as the semester progresses and as student organizations have more time to enact plans that may already be in place or to plan for future contributions to so worthy a cause. We urge any organizations not currently considering donations to consider benefit parties, fundraisers or other forms of gathering monetary contributions.

The Wisconsin Province of the Jesuits phone number is 937-6949. The American Society of the Red Cross web site is http://www.redcross.org. The Intertnational Society of the Red Cross web site is http://www.icrc.org.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 25 2005.