Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Suffolk feels natural disaster responses are inadequate

Recently, a series of cataclysmic storms have tormented areas in the Southern Atlantic. Houston and other lower parts of the United States, along with Puerto Rico, have gotten the worst of it.

Both Hurricanes Harvey and Maria had alarming effects on the lives of these U.S. citizens. It is estimated that the recovery efforts and aid for these battered regions will cost billions of dollars, and there is currently no time table for this process.

Suffolk University’s Carmen Veloria, an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, recently put together a short presentation entitled “Framing Hurricane Maria.” This was meant to spark the conversation amongst a small group made up of some students and faculty of how people are reacting to these catastrophes.

In attendance were professor Roberto Dominguez and Associate professor Amy Agigian, who spoke alongside Veloria. All three of them spoke their mind during this presentation on the damage Hurricane Maria has caused and how the United States have reacted as a whole.

Their consensus was that the U.S. Government, under President Donald Trump, simply hasn’t done enough. Both Veloria and Agigian discussed how inactivity in these times can shape the mind of the people today.

“It happened in a different place, [so it’s] not our responsibility.” said Veloria hypothetically.

Veloria’s reference spoke to the mindset that some people have; if an issue is not of direct effect to someone, then they need not to be concerned on the matter.

Veloira also discussed over the course of her entire presentation how these issues are as crucial politically as they are naturally. Citizens response and desire to help is key in the recovery process, as agreed upon by almost everyone that spoke.

“Framing,” the main theme of the presentation, is how people conceive these disasters and the root causes of these tropical storms. Framing is the way people see the world, often alternative to other ways of thinking in different areas. Agigian stated that as people, it is inappropriate to deny the role citizens have in the creation of these storms and the problematic aftermath of them. Veloria did not hesitate to agree with this.

“Scientific data isn’t making a compelling enough argument,” said Veloria. “It is visible in the way we act in times like this.”

One of the main points made by the speakers is that the U.S. has reacted so poorly because a lot of people have a similar mentality in their line of thinking– that people shouldn’t react at all. Veloria, along with her fellow speakers addressed how Trump and his administration’s rhetoric has been to hold back, because those affected are seen as a financial liability, even though they are U.S. citizens.

The engagement of Suffolk students in these relief efforts was another topic indirectly brought up during the discussion. Students gathered together to discuss these issues.

Elie Crief, a senior international student from France, discussed how the lack of acknowledgement at the government level can be mimicked among students.

“There needs to be a movement people are aware of,” said Crief in a recent interview with The Suffolk Journal.

Crief said how important it is that students band together to grasp the importance of our reactions to these natural phenomenons. Crief also said that if this ideal became more fundamental, dealing with these catastrophes both domestically and internationally would become easier.

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Suffolk feels natural disaster responses are inadequate