Monica Park: Your turn to pitch in

We have wat-ched the devastation in the Gulf Coast from a distance, and we have followed the chaos and ruin in New Orleans following upon the heels of our nation's woefully slow response. It is easy to shake our heads and point our fingers in blame: "The national and state governments made grave errors," we might say. And, "the president was too proud in refusing material aid from foreign nations." Or the finger might fall upon the city of New Orleans itself: "They live six feet below sea level. Why weren't they prepared?"

But while we idly grumble and foolishly whip the fog with our talk, the troubles of New Orleans and the surrounding areas linger and multiply. New Orleans is 80 percent under water, thousands are dead or missing, and nearly one million people have been displaced from their homes for an indeterminate amount of time.

These numbers should ring a bell -- and it should be a bell of alarm. Is it a surprise that those groups most strongly affected are the poor, the elderly and the infirm? Of course not. Should we shrug our shoulders, deem the situation "the eternal plight of the poor," and continue with our lives? This, it seems, is what our generation has been inclined to do.

New Orleans Mayor Roy Nagin made an eloquent and impassioned plea to the government and the public in a recent radio interview. In rough summary, his plea was as follows: "Get off your behinds, people, and do something."

Everyone is entitled to the basic right of property for a reason. Without a home, without a roof over our heads, we lose the dignity of basic physical shelter. In other words, we lose the dignity of feeling safe and are faced with a life -- if you can call it that -- lived in constant uncertainty and fear. A man once said, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." A home, at its most elemental level, is simply that: a secure place in which to lay one's head.

I repeat Mayor Nagin's entreaty, but this time, the entreaty is directed toward the students of the University of Pennsylvania, of other schools in the Ivy League, and of any university willing to respond.

Let us do something.

As Mayor Nagin now surely knows, in the aftermath of a disaster, there is great power in numbers. Many colleges and universities, including those in the Ivy League, have offered assistance in the form of temporary enrollment to college students who have been displaced. What we have done so far is good; but it is not enough. We can do much more.

We have the luxury of being students. Most of us do not have to worry about caring for a family. For the most part, we are young and resilient. Most importantly, we are lucky enough to have substantial vacations: at least two weeks for winter break, one week for spring break, and several months for summer break. In about four to six months, New Orleans will be facing the long and extremely difficult task of re-building.

If just one in five students at Penn volunteered to help re-build homes with Habitat for Humanity for a part of their winter break, their entire spring break, and/or a month of the summer, New Orleans would have a workforce of 4,000. If 20 percent of all the students in the Ivy League volunteered their time, we could offer New Orleans over 20,000 able-bodied young men and women. After all the embarrassment and anger following the response to Hurricane Katrina, we could finally have something to be proud of.

Instead of vacationing on some tropical island for our spring breaks and whiling away our summer months, let us give our energies to those who truly need it. Let us, for once, be galvanized by and united in human compassion.

When a man lies beaten by the side of the road, it is cruel to walk by without helping him. When a woman sits on the steps of her ruined home, it is cruel not to help her rebuild it, if we are able. And as a force of about 20,000 strong, we would certainly be most able.

If you would like to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity during your winter, spring, or summer break, you can find more information by visiting www.habitat.org and clicking on "Sign up to lend a hand."

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