The Student Union is organizing a fundraising drive this week to benefit the victims of hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike, which struck areas in the United States, Haiti and Cuba last week, said Student Union President Jason Gray '10 and Noah Kaplan '09, president of the Brandeis chapter of the National Collegiate Volunteers Group and co-founder of the national group.In an campuswide e-mail yesterday, Gray wrote, "While we hope that any future destruction is minimal, we have all observed the damage and destruction that has already occurred. There is considerable rebuilding necessary to repair the lives, homes, and businesses of those impacted by the storms."

Alex Kronberger '10 from New Orleans stressed that the experience of Hurricane Gustav had been very different than that of Hurricane Katrina. "I couldn't be there to help my parents; that part of made it almost more difficult than going through Katrina," he said.

There was a great relief among New Orleans residents that Gustav had not caused a disaster of Katrina's magnitude, he said. "A lot of people are really thanking God that it happened the way it did. It would have crippled the city permanently."

Gray said that "what sparked the initiative is the realization that the hurricanes are hitting and causing devastation, and we wanted to be able to provide a way for students on this campus to help out."

"I think it's very Brandeisian," he said.

In his e-mail, Gray encouraged all students to donate between $5 and $10 to the Student Union's Disaster Relief Initiative, and also provided a link to do so online through the Red Cross. Union members and students from NCV will be tabling in Usdan and in the Shapiro Campus Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. until this Friday.

Gray said that the Union formed a partnership with the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund because the Red Cross is the largest umbrella organization that is able to organize such an a disaster relief effort.

The proceeds from Pachanga, an event organized by the International Club that will take place on Saturday, will also benefit international victims of the hurricanes, according to Gray's e-mail. There will be a table set up at Pachanga where students can make additional donations to the American Red Cross, Kaplan said.

Gray also wrote that students interested in providing physical volunteer assistance should contact Kaplan. Kaplan explained that NCV has been consulting institutions like hospitals in the Louisiana area throughout the year, as rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is still underway, and by organizing two trips per year to the area for manual rebuilding efforts.

Kronberger said that many residents in the Gulf Coast region are still suffering greatly from Hurricane Katrina.

"[My family's] insurance company is still refusing to give us a new roof. The Katrina recovery effort is still very much going on," he said.

"It is very important to keep contributing to the Gulf Coast even when you don't hear about it on the news anymore.