Spring Break
Students march for Gulf Coast awareness
Eric Zimmerling
Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
A group of nearly 50 San Jose State University students trekked through campus on Thursday in an effort to "raise awareness" about the help that is still needed in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina unleashed her fury in 2005.
The students began their 45-minute march at the John Carlos and Tommie Smith statues and weaved their way through campus and around the perimeter streets of SJSU.
Ahlan Reeshikie, a sophomore majoring in computer engineering learned about the Gulf Coast Civil Works Project and the work that they are trying to do by seeing the march.
"I was just reading out here (outside the library) and I saw them coming and it made me curious," Reeshikie said. "I saw all the little flags on the lawn and now I know what it is all for. Somebody told me they are trying to get 100,000 signatures to pass a legislation that would give 100,000 jobs to the people there. I hope it works out."
The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is an organization that was created in an effort to develop federal legislation for 100,000 jobs for Gulf Coast residents to rebuild communities damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Danny Boyd, a senior majoring in sociology and a member of the Gulf Coast Civil Works Project said that events such as this are needed to get awareness out that there is still a lot of recovery work that needs to be done in the Gulf Coast.
"We are doing this to make people aware that things are unresolved there," Boyd said. "There is still a lot of negative stuff that is going over there and we're helping fight for justice for them. We want to let people know exactly what is going on. Those people need these jobs."
Boyd said that the crowd of marchers slowly increased as the walk progressed. He estimated there were around 50 people walking together at its peak.
Marcus Kilgore, a junior majoring in sociology, also participated in the walk and said he felt that it definitely helped raise awareness on the SJSU campus of the struggles in the Gulf Coast.
"The relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina are not close to being over," Kilgore said. "We are trying to get people to realize that there is still a lot of work to be done. A lot of people were asking questions as we walked through campus so I think we raised a lot of awareness."
The march through campus capped off a week of events that were part of a weeklong national summit on post-Katrina, in which 43 campuses around the country are participating.
Boyd said that these events are just a start of what the Gulf Coast Civil Works Project has in mind to help the post-Katrina efforts.
"We have a lot planned for the future," Boyd said. "We are working on some things now that we hope will make a real impact in the near future, but this was a real good start."
The students began their 45-minute march at the John Carlos and Tommie Smith statues and weaved their way through campus and around the perimeter streets of SJSU.
Ahlan Reeshikie, a sophomore majoring in computer engineering learned about the Gulf Coast Civil Works Project and the work that they are trying to do by seeing the march.
"I was just reading out here (outside the library) and I saw them coming and it made me curious," Reeshikie said. "I saw all the little flags on the lawn and now I know what it is all for. Somebody told me they are trying to get 100,000 signatures to pass a legislation that would give 100,000 jobs to the people there. I hope it works out."
The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project is an organization that was created in an effort to develop federal legislation for 100,000 jobs for Gulf Coast residents to rebuild communities damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Danny Boyd, a senior majoring in sociology and a member of the Gulf Coast Civil Works Project said that events such as this are needed to get awareness out that there is still a lot of recovery work that needs to be done in the Gulf Coast.
"We are doing this to make people aware that things are unresolved there," Boyd said. "There is still a lot of negative stuff that is going over there and we're helping fight for justice for them. We want to let people know exactly what is going on. Those people need these jobs."
Boyd said that the crowd of marchers slowly increased as the walk progressed. He estimated there were around 50 people walking together at its peak.
Marcus Kilgore, a junior majoring in sociology, also participated in the walk and said he felt that it definitely helped raise awareness on the SJSU campus of the struggles in the Gulf Coast.
"The relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina are not close to being over," Kilgore said. "We are trying to get people to realize that there is still a lot of work to be done. A lot of people were asking questions as we walked through campus so I think we raised a lot of awareness."
The march through campus capped off a week of events that were part of a weeklong national summit on post-Katrina, in which 43 campuses around the country are participating.
Boyd said that these events are just a start of what the Gulf Coast Civil Works Project has in mind to help the post-Katrina efforts.
"We have a lot planned for the future," Boyd said. "We are working on some things now that we hope will make a real impact in the near future, but this was a real good start."
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