Hugs for All

Bear Hug seeks to make the world a better placeBy Nigel ChiwayaStudent groups fulfilling community service requirements are nothing new to NYIT. But what about a club that’s sole purpose is to complete community service projects?For the members of Bear Hug, the goal is exactly that. Bear Hug is a new student group on the Manhattan campus. The group’s mission statement makes their purpose clear: “Bear Hug is about making positive change happen for our local and global communities.”The club is the brainchild of senior Aisha Qureshi. Qureshi was inspired to create the group after seeing the devastation brought on by an earthquake in Pakistan in 2005. The events following the earthquake led Qureshi work on the film 7.6, which showed the people of Pakistan as they tried to piece their lives together. The film, named after the magnitude of the film, won the favorite short award in the 2007 South Asian International Film Festival. After the film’s success, Qureshi turned her attention toward NYIT. “There were hardly any community service projects going on here,” Qureshi said, “and I’ve lived in third world countries my entire life, so I wanted to do something.”And while most groups are content to sweep lawns and pick up trash, Bear Hug has more ambitious plans. The group aims to sponsor 10 children in overseas countries over the course of the year- at a cost of $22 per child each month. In addition, the group is working with the administration and Student Government Associations on both the Manhattan and Old Westbury campuses to put together a charity art auction, with the proceeds benefiting the victims of the 2005 earthquake.One of the chief concerns that many face when donating money is the desire to make sure the money goes to the right people. However, Qureshi insists that the group will only deal with reputable organizations, and Bear Hug will receive and distribute monthly updates on the children it is sponsoring.The group knows that raising such a large sum of money will not be easy, so they have taken steps to avoid begging students for money. In late October, the group was out selling trick-or-treat bags in the Main Building lobby.Reaction to the group has been almost universally positive. “I’m happy that we finally have a student run philanthropy group at NYIT, and I look forward to their contributions,” said Dennis Camacho, the Director of the Student Activities on the Manhattan campus. The group has the full support of the administration and both student governments, and the first group meeting was packed with interested students. Any students interested in joining should contact Aisha Qureshi at aqureshi@nyit.edu