Burnt Orange Report

UDems in the News

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

UDems President Alex Hunt was quoted extensively in today's Daily Texan article about the fundraising efforts for Katrina Victim.

A gathering of the University Democrats and College Republicans would typically involve debate and politics, but all week the two have been together on the West Mall to garner bipartisan support to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Total cash donations for Tuesday and Wednesday exceeded $750, said Alex Hunt, president of the University Democrats and a government sophomore. The two organizations plan to continue their setup Thursday afternoon.

The event was just one of several that UT students have organized in the aftermath of the hurricane that has brought hundreds of displaced Louisiana students to campus, said Kevin Hegarty, UT vice president and chief financial officer. Hegarty leads a committee that is aiming to bring student organizations together to host volunteer efforts and to help UT students who may be trying to get in touch with family members.

Of course, while the efforts to help locals here in Austin have been excellent, there are many concerns about what is going on on the federal level, which is apparent to most everyone. But even the Republicans on down to the campus level are trying to follow the "wait til Bush investigates himself" line before making judgment.

"A lot of people, whether they're Democrats or Republicans, black or white, see a problem with how the federal government reacted," Hunt said. "We're here to show that [we want] to make up for it."

College Republicans campaign director Said Aziz, who helped organize the donation booth, said Americans should refrain from pointing the blame for inadequacies on federal response until further investigations of the relief efforts are complete. Aziz said that this week's rally is a step in putting political preferences aside and helping fellow citizens who are still in urgent need of help.