USU students approach senators
Utah State University students wrote and hand delivered 180 letters to senators in an effort to obtain $100 million for helping children around the world.
The USU organization responsible for these letters is called Student Campaign for Child Survival.
Brian Smedley, president of the local chapter, said USU and BYU have the only chapters in Utah, and there are 36 chapters of the SCCS nationwide. However, the SCCS is only 6 months old and is growing extremely fast, he said.
The SCCS’s goal is to lobby the government to obtain additional funding for two major government organizations that aid the children of the world, UNICEF and USAID, Smedley said.
USU has nearly a dozen key members and 100 students on an e-mail list and would greatly appreciate more support from other students, he said.
Brian Beazer, a senior at USU, said, “Eleven million children die every year, and that is about the population of New York City.”
Jennifer Coleman, a junior at USU, said, “For only 4 cents a year, you could prevent the blindness of a child by providing vitamin A.”
She said there are many diseases that can be prevented with little cost, and for only $30 a year, one can help prevent eight major killers of children around the world.
Eric Coleman, another key member and a senior at USU, said, “I think we have a shot at asking for a $100-million increase over last year’s budget.”
According to the SCCS Web site, www.supportchildsurvival.org, “Nearly three-quarters of child deaths in the developing world are caused by diseases for which practical, low-cost interventions exist, including immunization, ORT use and antibiotics. For this reason, the Student Campaign for Child Survival is strongly committed to promoting life-saving interventions for children in developing countries.”
The main killers are, “Lack of immunization for infectious diseases, malnutrition, acute respiratory infection, diarrhea, vitamin A deficiency, measles, malaria, low birth weight and breast feeding,” according to the site.
Smedley said, “I heard President Bush say, ‘Poverty is the breeding ground for terrorism and by eliminating poverty, it helps make the world a safer place.'”
Every student who wishes to write a letter to help lobby, he said, will receive a response from the congressional office if he puts a return address on his envelope. Students who wish to be involved in USU SCCS may e-mail Smedley at bsmedley@cc.usu.edu.
-paulrjenkins@cc.usu.edu