The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion ::

The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion ::: "To make the claim, Harvard needs to put its (charitable) money where its mouth is
Published On Thursday, October 13, 2005 10:51 PM
By DANIEL J. HEMEL
Saturday marks the end of the period in which Harvard will match up to $100 donations that students, staff, and faculty make to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The end of the matching-funds drive comes exactly one week after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake rocked Kashmir, killing an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 people. But although the earthquake has created a humanitarian crisis that dwarfs even the devastation that Katrina wrought along the Gulf Coast, Harvard has chosen to value lives in Louisiana and Mississippi above those in Pakistan and India.

This is not the University’s first attempt to play the role of freelance philanthropist. In September 2001, Harvard pledged $1 million to fund scholarships for the children of terror victims. It matched $245,877 in donations by Harvard affiliates after last December’s massive tsunami. But if Harvard wants to get the biggest bang for its charitable buck, the University should focus its philanthropic efforts on the oft-ignored humanitarian crises that pass in and out of the headlines, where donors’ dollars are needed the most. "