Over break, Chancellor Wrighton sent an email to the Washington University community notifying students of the disaster and the University’s response. But as of yet, neither the University nor Student Union have organized a fundraiser to help those affected by the disaster. By contrast, in response to the disaster in Haiti, SU organized a fundraiser that raised more than $9,000.

We understand that the student body and the rest of America have different perceptions of Japan and Haiti. Haiti is a developing country, plagued by poverty and poor political infrastructure. Japan, on the other hand, has the third largest economy in the world and a very good infrastructure for dealing with tsunamis and earthquakes. Japan is a country with famously little civil unrest, which could contribute to our lack of interest or empathy.

But despite this, and even though the crisis in Japan happened over spring break, we have no excuse for not trying our hardest to raise money and awareness. The earthquake in Haiti occurred during winter break in 2010, and the student body responded generously.

Just because we don’t necessarily see the troubles that Japan is dealing with at the moment doesn’t mean that the nation doesn’t need substantial international aid. Especially given the unpredictable consequences of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan clearly needs all the help and support, that it can get. It doesn’t help Japan that commentators across the U.S. are very concerned about the status of nuclear power plants on their own soil. While this is a serious issue, it should not be raised in the stead of the set of crises happening in Japan.

We think that the University—both the administration and the students—should be taking action to help alleviate the suffering in Japan. A handful of student groups have been trying to raise money and awareness, but they could benefit from more official backing.

Over break, newscasters covered and debated the bombings in Libya, Egyptians approved a new constitutional referendum, and the House of Representatives ended federal funding for National Public Radio. Even if we don’t have a fundraiser for Japan, when we go away for break, the world doesn’t stop turning. Now that school has resumed, we urge everyone to take the time to stay engaged.

The fundraiser, called $48K in 48 Hours, raised more than $30,000 for Washington University’s upcoming Relay for Life.

The event lasted from 10 p.m. on Feb. 16 to 10 p.m. Feb. 18. The goal was to raise $48,000 in the span of 48 hours.

Although the group didn’t reach its goal, the event raised $32,523.44, setting a record for the highest amount raised in 48 hours for Relay on any college campus.

Relay for Life’s steering committee got the idea from the University of Georgia, which held a similar event last year.

“One of the premises is that it’s a surprise attack on the campus,” said senior Alyssa Anzalone-Newman, fundraising chair of the committee, who headed the event. “We keep it a secret, so there’s a lot of excitement and buildup when we start.”

The activities included selling donuts by the Forsyth Underpass, raffling tickets for a free Chipotle burrito party for four and holding “class donation wars” in the Danforth University Center.

Freshman Latoya Jackson won the prize for the individual who sent the most e-mails through the Relay for Life website.

Jackson believes events like these are good opportunities to make a difference.

“We all complain about how things can be better, but when opportunities like this come around, we don’t take advantage of it,” Jackson said. “If you feel so strongly about it, why not get involved?”

The biggest prize, though, went to freshman Miriam Dresner, who won a one-way Southwest Airlines ticket for raising the most money of any student.

Dresner, the only freshman member of the steering committee, noted that her previous experience with Relay fundraising helped her win.

“I was very involved with Relay throughout high school, and I’ve previously raised $10,000,” Dresner said. “I’ve been doing this for years, so that made it a lot easier.”

Dresner explained that she reached out to her old contacts to get donors, sending out around 30 or 40 e-mails, with an attachment at the bottom allowing the recipient to enter their credit card information and donate easily.

Dresner added that Relay has personal significance for her, as her grandmother is a cancer survivor and her cousin is currently battling the disease.

“I relay for those who can’t relay, and I relay so I’ll never have to relay again,” Dresner said.

Anzalone-Newman and Dresner both believe that the event was successful in getting the campus excited for Relay, which is less than two weeks away.

“I think it really got Wash. U. excited for what we can do as a campus and as a community,” Anzalone-Newman said. “It’s a huge deal that we can go up against schools with 40,000 students and raise more money in 48 hours.”

Anzalone-Newman hopes the enthusiasm will last through March 5, when Relay will take place.

“We’re going to try to ride that wave of excitement until Relay,” Anzalone-Newman said.

The women’s bracket had five teams, with Alpha Epsilon Phi triumphing over Alpha Omega Pi, while the men’s tournament boasted 12 teams. Sigma Chi emerged victorious in the men’s bracket.

Squads were engaged in rally play in a best-of-three 15-point-set competition. Some teams held practices. The two winning groups could choose between a Wii or an Xbox 360.

“It’s really great that something as small as one chapter can add up all over the country and support a national philanthropy,” said junior Emily McNish, marketing director for Chi Omega.

The efforts of the past week, including fundraisers at local-area restaurants and a wishing well, all go toward the Make-A-Wish Foundation. People could also throw balls at a dunk tank staffed by members of Chi Omega.

“Make-A-Wish is a really amazing cause, and we’re trying to send a girl with sickle cell anemia to Disney World,” sophomore Arden Plumb said. Plumb was dunked at least twice.

The fundraising goal is $5,000, and as of press time, the amount raised is unknown. In the past five years, Chi Omega’s Wash. U. chapter has raised over $25,000, according to McNish.

Each team was assigned two Chi Omegas, who made signs, cheered and coached their respective squads. Some Chi Omegas, including sophomore Lauren Chelew, filled in for short handed teams.

“I’m actually their coach, and we were just short a few people,” Chelew said. “I used to play volleyball in high school, so I was eager to play.”

Chelew played for Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which fell to Sigma Nu.

Competitors came for the sun, fun and supporting charity.

“You hear about that kind of stuff on television,” said sophomore Justin Pieper, who played for Sigma Nu. “It’s cool to see it come to campus and be part of something that you’re doing.”

Events like these are not unique among Wash. U.’s Greek community. AOPi hosted the first Rose Bowl at the Swamp and the Village Green where teams competed in flag football. At the end of the day, Alpha Phi and Sigma Nu captured their respective titles. Funds raised through the tournament supported the Arthritis Foundation.

Delta Gamma hosted its annual Anchor Splash for Service for Sight in September, featuring synchronized swimming and other relays. Pi Phi hosts “Down and Dirty,” a basketball tournament, for First Book on Oct. 31.

Other groups send members to compete with most sororities and fraternities represented at the tournament on Sunday.

“It’s part of being in a sorority, giving back… and really supporting Panhellenic,” said junior captain Kayla Rudolph, vice president of philanthropy for AEPhi. “The attendance is really a testament to Greek Life and it’s really nice that everyone comes out and supports everyone else.”

Soliciting named donations for the Tisch Commons or Dains Dining Hall, expansive and expensive places they are, makes sense to me. But how about the Wheldon & Reding Entrance? The Koppler Fireplace? The Sarah Russell Meeting Room? The Winney Window?

I can name a window? Sure, if I have a spare $10,000.

Even Student Life is part of the new Angel & Paul Harvey Media Center, and the naming rights to our office are still on the market. A list of all available spaces and objects can be found on the DUC’s Web site, and there seems to be no office, alcove or oddity off limits.

My favorite has to be the Career Center. Both floors are still up for grabs, but the stairs between them proudly bear the label of the Philpott Career Center Staircase, at a price of only $100,000.

According to the Web site, 53 places and objects have already been funded, and I counted about 25 bearing plaques. Knowing the existence of all those modest donors helped restore my faith in humanity—briefly, until the moment I realized that there are still another 70 spots open to bids.

For those generous souls who wish to give back to their school but can’t afford a five-digit donation, fret not. You can buy a brick in the courtyard, and have it engraved with your name for only $500.

However, before you try, I already asked. While you don’t have to name a donation after yourself—an inspirational professor is historically a popular choice—all named donations must go through an approval process. So, I cannot donate in the name of I.C. Weiner, and I sadly must abandon my long-term goal of becoming rich enough to christen the John Wayne Gacy Fun Room.

Named donations are nothing new; almost all buildings are named after a major donor, and plenty of major spaces have names. You may have taken a pre-med exam in the Arthur L. Hughes Lecture Hall in Crow. However, the cost of building the DUC—all $42 million—was funded by donations and their acquired interest. Construction costs ended up exceeding the original budget, and the efforts to name remaining spaces help make up the deficit and endow maintenance.

The DUC’s neighbor, the equally new Seigle Hall, was fortified with a comparable number of hefty donations. Yet, their plaques never struck me as nearly as prolific or intrusive. Wandering around both buildings one afternoon, I came up with a theory. Seigle’s named spots seemed to be mostly spaces and centers on the periphery of major foot traffic.

The DUC’s named things seemed more sporadic, a random window here or meeting room there. The plaques also seemed to be found more centrally, at major entrances or stairs or junctions. You can blame the donors’ personal whims for that.

That said, I still overheard people lambasting Seigle’s plaques as I gave myself the guided tour. The new official names are ignored by staff, mocked by students and lampooned in Student Life editorial cartoons.

And yet, I’m starting to come to see the upside of this ridiculous trend. The unprecedented number of named spaces in the DUC is due to the unprecedented wave of donations. Alumni, both upper class and upper-middle class, are investing a personal stake in improving the campus and putting their money where their mouth is. For better or for worse, we’re going to see new buildings flourish, bristling with venerated stairs and memorial cubicles.

Only one plaque I find unforgivable: “North Entrance—funded by anonymous donor.” I can only hope Anonymous is basking in the glory of his or her indelible mark on our campus’s newest darling DUC.

Although many donors wish to remain anonymous, according to the University’s Web site, about 32 areas of the DUC have already been funded.

Donors’ contributions do not necessarily correlate to the exact cost of the construction of their named areas, but there is a set minimum donation that is required to have a specific area dedicated to them.

“If you have a naming opportunity for a room or a hall, the money is given to the overall project. The returned honor is then to recognize that gift and then to recognize the individual,” Fred Volkmann, vice chancellor for public affairs, said. “The naming opportunities are based on the level of the gift and then the commensurate level of the list of opportunities.”

So far, there have been about 40 substantial donations, the largest being $15 million, that have been made to the building fund. Volkmann declined to disclose the donations’ exact amounts.

The Harvey Media Suite, one of the most significant naming opportunities taken thus far, is on the third floor of the center and is named for the family of Angel Harvey, a University alumna. She and her husband were both successful broadcast journalists.

The naming opportunity for the media center had a set minimum donation of $1.2 million. Within the media center are the WUTV suite, the Student Life suite, the WUTV studio and control room, the recording studio and the Hatchet and print media suite, all of which have yet to be named.

In that space, the University spent millions of dollars to create state-of-the-art facilities for the student media groups.

The WUTV suite, for example—which cost millions of dollars—boasts an innovative news set and, according to DUC Director Bill Darby, dramatically improved equipment from their studio last year.

Although WUTV’s resources are greatly improved, Darby says that the University’s expectations of media groups like WUTV and Hatchet, which are partially funded and managed by the University, have not changed.

“I hope we have provided people with resources that will make it easier for them to become the best,” Darby said. “Our expectations haven’t changed but the resources we have provided them to meet these [have changed].”

While the Harveys’ donation is one of many large contributions to the construction of the DUC, the largest donation, of $15 million dollars, came about a decade ago during the University’s last campaign from the Danforth Foundation—the family foundation that is the building’s namesake.

While the Danforth Foundation designated its gift within the University’s endowment for the building of a student center, the foundation did not know that its name would be given to the DUC until recently.

Because the gift was designated for the endowment, only the income earned on the investment of the money will be used to pay for the building.

“That’s the purpose of an endowment, it is a perpetual gift. You don’t spend it,” Volkmann said. “In this case the income will all be used to construct the building.”

A list on the University’s Web site indicates that 61 areas of the DUC still have not been funded.

The fun room is one of these unfunded areass and has a set minimum donation price of  $750,000. Other significant naming opportunities include the fireplace outside of the funroom for $50,000, the Career Center Suite for $2 million and the Student Union Executive Suite for $500,000.

According to Volkmann, the income earned over the course of several years on the investment of the Danforth Foundation’s gift will come very close to equaling the building’s costs, which have not yet been fully paid for.

Darby says that the $43 million being spent on the building will have a significant impact on students.

“This is $43 million that changes the experiences of students at Wash. U. It can change Wash. U.’s relationship with the community,” Darby said.