Students start fund for quake victims

After a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit southern Mexico on Tuesday, Arturo Cajal, a Ph.D. student studying mechanical engineering, knew he could not sit back and watch his home country crumble to the ground.

He felt that there was not much he could do from the United States, but nevertheless he needed to do something.

For that reason he and approximately 10 other Mexican students formed a group to set up a relief fund to aid those in the Mexico City area who have been affected by the earthquake, which has now killed over 270 people, according to Telemundo Noticias.

The group Aid For Mexico, has set up a booth on Trousdale Parkway near Founders Park, and encourages people to donate either through a Venmo account or relief organizations like Topos de Tlatelolco, which aids those affected by natural disasters worldwide. They will be accepting donations for the next week.

“By fortune, we were able to start this and I feel more relieved that I’m doing something for my country,” Cajal said. “But there is still a lot of work to be done.”

The group of students is working with Iniciativa México Innova, an initiative of the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles that aims to increase the network of Mexican immigrants in Southern California.

The students opened a bank account through this nonprofit to assure that all donations are transferred directly to Cruz Roja Mexicana. Just after two days of collecting funds, they have already gathered over $500, according to Cajal.

Donating money through this medium is the most transparent method, according to Francisco Valero-Cuevas, a professor of engineering at USC and the president of Iniciativa Mexico Innova.

The group is working with the Consulate General of México, along  with El Centro Chicano, the Latina/o Student Assembly and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science at USC.

El Centro Chicano will be one of the locations where those wishing to help can donate funds, according to Billy Vela, the center’s director.

“We all got together and got our heads around it,” Vela said. “Now the hope is that we can get the rest of the University involved, not just Latinx Trojans.”

While the group hopes to expand its involvement beyond just Latinx students, it’s aware that Mexican students are most impacted by the earthquake, since it hit close to home.

Alejandra Ramos, a graduate student in the specialized journalism program, is one of these students. Ramos was born in Mexico City and said she is still in shock seeing her hometown go through a natural disaster like this one.

“My heart is broken,” Ramos said. “Even in my neighborhood, the buildings are collapsing. It’s shocking and I don’t think any one of us was mentally prepared to be living this.”

Ramos said she is proud to see her community come together to help save as many lives as possible, but she hopes that efforts expand past Mexico City.

“I am so happy to see society together, because I don’t think the government is doing enough,” Ramos said. “I think the efforts need to focus on all the places that are not receiving help, because there is no accessibility there.”

Isabel Velasquez, who donated to the Aid For Mexico fund and is a graduate student in the School of Social Work, agreed with Ramos. She said her family currently lives in Puebla, a city less than 40 miles away from the epicenter of the earthquake and that many houses in her family’s pueblo were destroyed and many are still without electricity and are receiving little to no help.

“A lot of the small pueblos aren’t getting enough help from the government,” she said. “I understand that [Mexico City] had a lot of damage, but there are also a lot small towns around the city that also need help that aren’t getting any help.”

Velasquez said that she wishes she could be in Mexico helping the victims of the disaster, but was glad she could pitch in to the relief fund and will be volunteering with the student group.

“I feel like I am useless,” she said. “My donation is nothing compared to the people out there trying to help but I can’t go out there and help myself.”

As the efforts continue to save lives and bring the country back to normal, Ramos believes that the earthquake will have long-lasting effects on her beloved Mexico.

“I think we are no longer the same people,” she said. “Nothing is going to be the same.”