On January 19, the Cardozo administration held an informational meeting with students to discuss the school’s contribution to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are feared dead following an earthquake that destroyed much of the country earlier this month, while aftershocks have continued to hinder relief efforts in Haiti.

“We are, indeed, in a position to help,” Dean Matthew Diller told the group of students who assembled for the meeting. Diller reported that the administration envisions two phases of Cardozo involvement in the relief effort: assisting with the immediate need for money and necessities, as well as aiding with the legal dimension of the relief effort. “It is important that we do both,” Diller said.

In the short term, Leslie Thrope, the lead coordinator of Cardozo’s Haiti relief effort, asked students to brainstorm about organizations that should receive money donated by the school and its students. Thrope also discussed the possibility of item donation drives, such as the collection of baby clothing for orphaned and other children.

Jenny Pelaez, 2L, a member of the Immigration Law clinic, said that the school is considering a clinical program aimed at recruiting Cardozo students to work with community-based organizations that serve Haitians living in New York City. Recently, the Obama administration began a program that allows undocumented Haitians living in the United States to stay in the country for 18 months. Pelaez said that the Immigration Law Clinic is currently assessing the need for student involvement, and would start training law students to help process the applications for undocumented Haitians in the coming weeks.

Thrope is also working to form a coalition among New York City-based law schools to coordinate Haiti relief efforts, and hopes to get space at the New York University Public Interest Career Fair for this purpose. “If we share in this responsibility, the work will get done quicker, and we can get the aid there faster,” Thrope said.

There have also been preliminary discussions about the opportunity for a small group of Cardozo students to go to Haiti, possibly in the summer, in order to help in the rebuilding effort. Materials distributed at the meeting called for a “human rights-based approach to humanitarian assistance for Haiti.”

Yeshiva University’s homepage has a link to the donation page of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Haiti Earthquake Disaster Fund.  The JDC website states that the organization has sent relief teams to Haiti to help survivors with medical, search and rescue and post-trauma counseling experts. The homepage also expresses the university’s sympathy to the victims of the Haiti earthquake and to their families.

Closer to home, the Cardozo Office of Student Services is providing support for students affected by the earthquake in Haiti. YU is also offering support for employees who have been affected by the earthquake in Haiti, and encourages employees to speak with their supervisors or contact Michael Sica, Director of Employee Engagement and Development, at 212-960-5400, ext. 6678.