Loyola revealed its plans this week to support financially the Haitian students whose income was affected by the earthquake Jan. 12.
“It’s moments like this that the Catholic Jesuit mission matters most,” said Sal Liberto, vice president for enrollment management.
Liberto said that the plan of financially helping Haitian students is a three-phase process. As of April 20, phase one has been completed.
“The students from Haiti who owe balances, whose incomes were affected by the disaster, those balances have been cleared for the spring,” Liberto said.
Phase two of the plan, Liberto said, is to see if there are any other students who were also affected. Phase three is to make sure that any students who have been affected can graduate from Loyola.
“We will commit resources and university fundraising toward ensuring their graduation,” Liberto said.
Liberto said that Loyola was able to clear the students’ balances through fundraising, private donations and the support of SGA.
“The university wanted to make the commitment to those students … we want them to feel the full weight of that support,” he said.
The university’s work for Haiti began Jan. 15 with the foundation of Loyola’s Hope For Haiti Task Force. Robert Reed, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, and Kurt Bindewald, director of University Ministry, run the task force.
The Hope for Haiti Task Force was created “to identify relief resources and plan for a sustained aid effort to the island nation and to community members affected by the tragedy,” according to the Hope for Haiti Task Force blog.
“As New Orleanians, our recent past and our long history with the island of Haiti instills in us a special obligation to find ways to combat Haiti fatigue and continue to provide help to the Haitian people for the long term,” Reed stated on the Student Affairs Web site.
Among the 28 attendees at the first task force meeting was Riva Precil, music therapy junior, who has worked for Haiti and Haitian students. Precil’s parents lived in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. They survived, but lost their jobs.
Precil approached Atoyia Scott, music industry senior and former SGA senator-at-large, about what SGA could do to support the Haitian students at Loyola. Scott, along with fellow SGA senator Brittani McClain, psychology senior and former SGA senator for the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences, wrote a resolution supporting the students, and which was passed unanimously.
“Not only did we support it, we donated most of our money,” Scott said.
According to the resolution, “SGA has chosen to allot $4,254.96 to be divided among the students who have been identified as Haitian students at Loyola.”
“At Loyola, we’re a community … It’s important that SGA represents that, no matter who that student may be, no matter anything,” Scott said.
The next step was to involve the Loyola administration in helping the Haitian students affected by the earthquake.
“If you really want to help Haiti, it might be better to start helping the Haitian students who are already in school here. By helping them, they represent the future of Haiti,” said Wadner Pierre, mass communication freshman and Haitian native.
The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., said he knows what it means to be in need, having been president of Loyola at the time of Hurricane Katrina.
“I want to make sure of this, one way or the other…that they can get their education finished,” said Wildes.
“I don’t care what the number (of students) is; it’s the right thing to do,” Wildes said. “They’re going to get it. They’re going to get it done.”
Ashley Stevens can be reached at
