Well, the totals are in, and the NIU student population should be ashamed of itself.

In one day of donations, the Northern Star collected $1,307 in donations for its Hurricane Katrina relief effort. A decent number, but pitiful with respect to our goal of $40,000.

At a school of 25,000 students, the second-largest public university in the state in fact, it does not seem unreasonable to ask for only $2 from everyone’s pocket.

Three states – Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama – continue to reel from the worst natural disaster in American history and you, the students of NIU, just happen to be alive to witness it – and to help.

We are not discouraging the efforts of those who donated Tuesday. One student withdrew $100 from the ATM in the basement of the Holmes Student Center and proceeded to put all of it in a donation jar. Such donations, with no expectation of a reimbursement, should not go unnoticed.

We thank all those who have donated, and encourage you to persuade those around you to help such a cause.

The Northern Star is just one of many local area merchants and businesses in northwest Illinois organizing relief efforts.

Here at NIU, the Student Involvement Office and Housing and Dining Services also are sponsoring relief efforts.

All funds will be given directly to the American Red Cross’ Katrina Relief Fund. The suggested donation is $2.

Only cash and checks will be accepted and all payments must be payable to NIU. Receipts will be provided if requested.

The 11 collection points include the Holmes Student Center, DuSable and Barsema halls and the Star’s office in the Campus Life Building, Suite 130. Additionally, donations can be made at the dining halls in Lincoln, Douglas, Grant North and South and Neptune halls, the Stevenson food court and the Trident in Neptune. The relief drive will last through Friday.

Students who feel the hurricane does not affect them directly are mistaken. The impact of the hurricane is being absorbed by the entire nation in monetary as well as cultural values. Gas prices, which were outrageous before the disaster, are at record highs and keep climbing.

Taxes also are expected to increase.

Perhaps a major effect no one has considered yet is the loss of culture from an entire city. New Orleans, like much of the South, has a distinct voice and personality all its own that has forever changed. The New Orleans your children visit, if it even still exists, will not be the same New Orleans you were able to visit a month ago.

Keeping this in mind, members of NIU’s community are being called upon to provide aid to a section of the country in dire need.

In 10, 20 or even 30 years, how will the legacy of those who helped be remembered?