Earthquake in Haiti affects WPU students

People across the nation are feeling the effects of the devastating earthquake and aftershocks in Haiti.  For some students here at William Paterson University, the earthquake hit very close to home.

On Jan. 11, just a day before a massive 7.0 magnitude quake tore through Port-au-Prince, Pascal Faustin, was saying goodbye to his aunt and uncle who were leaving to Haiti.

Faustin, a Haitian-American student at WPU, came home from work just as news of the earthquake began to circulate. As his mother cried in front of the T.V., Faustin's thoughts turned to his aunt and uncle. 

“My aunt and uncle are like second parents to me,” said Faustin. “To hear that the center of the earthquake hit the exact city that they were staying in frightened me a lot. I didn’t know what to do, but I started praying right away.”

Fortunately, Faustin did receive word from his aunt, uncle and other family members. They were all safe, and being that his aunt and uncle are U.S. citizens, they were able to return to New Jersey right away.

Faustin knows that he is one of the lucky ones. There are so many in Haiti struggling to survive, so as a senior and member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., he and his fraternity brothers have started a clothes drive called The Odd Squad Cares Clothes Drive for Haiti. Their goal is to send a minimum of 10 full boxes of clothes to the people in Haiti.

“I’ve never been there [Haiti] personally, but I feel deeply attached, being that this is where my family is from,” said Faustin. “And even though I didn’t lose my family, my heart goes out to all that did.”

Haitian-American freshman, Vanessa Duv, was also personally affected by the earthquake because lot of her family is in Haiti. Their homes were destroyed, and they had to spend their nights sleeping outside. When the first quake occurred, it was impossible to get in contact with her family. But she believed they would be alright.

“The one thing that kept me hopeful is my faith in God,” said Duv. “I know he can do all things, so the number one thing I do is keep a positive attitude and have faith.”

Even though Duv’s family are doing fine, her family’s friends are still missing, and her relatives presume that they are dead.

“I just really need to put my faith in God because he is the only one that can help at this moment,” said Duv.

The WPU freshman has donated money to the American Red Cross, and plans on donating clothes, water, and canned food to her church in Elizabeth, NJ, who are helping those in Haiti

Earthquake in Haiti affects WPU students

People across the nation are feeling the effects of the devastating earthquake and aftershocks in Haiti.  For some students here at William Paterson University, the earthquake hit very close to home.

On Jan. 11, just a day before a massive 7.0 magnitude quake tore through Port-au-Prince, Pascal Faustin, was saying goodbye to his aunt and uncle who were leaving to Haiti.

Faustin, a Haitian-American student at WPU, came home from work just as news of the earthquake began to circulate. As his mother cried in front of the T.V., Faustin's thoughts turned to his aunt and uncle. 

“My aunt and uncle are like second parents to me,” said Faustin. “To hear that the center of the earthquake hit the exact city that they were staying in frightened me a lot. I didn’t know what to do, but I started praying right away.”

Fortunately, Faustin did receive word from his aunt, uncle and other family members. They were all safe, and being that his aunt and uncle are U.S. citizens, they were able to return to New Jersey right away.

Faustin knows that he is one of the lucky ones. There are so many in Haiti struggling to survive, so as a senior and member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., he and his fraternity brothers have started a clothes drive called The Odd Squad Cares Clothes Drive for Haiti. Their goal is to send a minimum of 10 full boxes of clothes to the people in Haiti.

“I’ve never been there [Haiti] personally, but I feel deeply attached, being that this is where my family is from,” said Faustin. “And even though I didn’t lose my family, my heart goes out to all that did.”

Haitian-American freshman, Vanessa Duv, was also personally affected by the earthquake because lot of her family is in Haiti. Their homes were destroyed, and they had to spend their nights sleeping outside. When the first quake occurred, it was impossible to get in contact with her family. But she believed they would be alright.

“The one thing that kept me hopeful is my faith in God,” said Duv. “I know he can do all things, so the number one thing I do is keep a positive attitude and have faith.”

Even though Duv’s family are doing fine, her family’s friends are still missing, and her relatives presume that they are dead.

“I just really need to put my faith in God because he is the only one that can help at this moment,” said Duv.

The WPU freshman has donated money to the American Red Cross, and plans on donating clothes, water, and canned food to her church in Elizabeth, NJ, who are helping those in Haiti.

The WPU Pioneers have also shown great support to the victims of Haiti. Instead of admission charges for their men’s and women’s baskbetball game on Jan. 23, they requested donations to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund.

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