Bakersfield College President William Andrews said that the BC community has a “responsibility” to collect donations for the victims of Katrina.

“I realized nothing was coming out of BC, due to the state of shock that people were in,” he said.

In order to facilitate the donation process, Andrews set forth, with the Bakersfield College Foundation, a Katrina fund on Sept. 8. The BC business office is ready to accept donations in cash or check, according to Andrews. Receipts will be provided. Donations will be split between the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. According to John Griffith, director of budget and business operations, the BC Katrina fund has received $221 as of Sept. 19.

“The intent was to provide a formal way so that students and faculty members could donate financially to the Katrina relief efforts,” Andrews said. “It’s my responsibility as president to develop a fund in which people could donate through.”

Andrews understands that many students and faculty members have made donations outside of the campus and is not expecting thousand of dollars in donations through the BC Katrina foundation.

It has been three weeks since Hurricane Katrina struck the states of Louisiana and Mississippi with tremendous force and left many cities in a state of destruction. Relief efforts began to emerge.

The American Red Cross began accepting donations for victims of Katrina, along with many other humanitarian organizations, such as the Salvation Army and the American Way, and Bakersfield College relief funds are well on their way.

According to Griffith, the initiative set forth by Andrews “will allow people to contribute.”

Griffith is very excited to see the campus come together for a great cause. “It’s nice to see a vehicle to help the Katrina victims. We’ve had a lot of calls; a lot of people have come in with donations.”

Agricultural student Brittany Malkin decided to start a clothing drive for the hurricane victims of Katrina, which ran from Sept. 8 to Sept. 16.

According to Gay Gardella, animal science professor, “BC students are responding.” She feels good about the drive’s progress so far. “We have quite a bit coming, and we still have a week to go.” As of Sept. 14, the drive has collected about a dozen bags filled with clothes for the victims of Katrina.

The agricultural department also plans to have a blood drive in October in partnership with Houchin Blood Bank, according to Gardella, in order to collect blood for the blood banks in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The BC Student Government Association has also begun to brainstorm ideas in which to help the devastated states and their citizens.

Ideas include throwing a benefit concert, beginning a water bottle drive, and even adopting abandoned apartment complexes to bring in homeless hurricane victims to Kern County and BC.

According to Ryan Busby, SGA general counsel, the BC SGA plans to apply for federal funding in order to fix the abandoned apartment complexes, and even to enroll Katrina victims at BC, with the help of faculty member professor of philosophy, Melissa Cross-Fade, who is currently on medical leave.

According to Tamara Lengdon, student senator, SGA plans to involve staff, students, and faculty members in their efforts.

Don Turney, dean of students, said, “A benefit concert is being looked into with more detail, and the concert is scheduled for some time in October. I’m not surprised in the amount of outpouring and goodwill of BC students, and staff members.”

Also donations are being accepted in the Student Activities office in Campus Center 4.

“The BC foundation is ready to accept people into the BC community,” Andrews said, in response to bringing in victims of Katrina to Kern County and BC.

Andrews said the school is looking at getting the out-of-state fee waived at BC.

For Andrews, this catastrophe brought home concerns as to how much the Kern Community College District is prepared. “We don’t prepare for disasters as much as we should,” he said.

Andrews plans to have a campus-wide fire drill this fall. “The whole campus will be aware of it, I want people to follow through,” he said. Andrews added that BC does have plans in case of a disaster; however, “plans need to be tested,” he said.

BC’s involvement with aiding Katrina goes a lot further than on campus activities.

Adjunct professor Robert Lechtrek, who is the director of forensics and co-coach of the BC debate team, is a member of a Kern County Fire Department that was deployed on Sept. 3 to Mississippi, along with 27 different members of the many Kern County Fire Departments.

“The amount of devastation is amazing; the greatest I’ve ever seen,” said Lechtrek in regard to Hurricane Katrina.

Lechtrek was sent out as a logistics chief, along with a mobile kitchen. The mobile kitchen is being used to help feed cleanup crews, rescue teams, local firefighters and police officers, and military personnel. At least 500 meals a day were distributed and an estimated 1,200 meals per day will be given out to crew members after Sept. 19, according to Lechtrek.

Lechtrek has previous experience with relief efforts, including fires, earthquakes and deployment as a supply unit leader to Washington after the 9/11 attacks.

Lechtrek’s mission was scheduled to last a month. His wife, Marty, waits for her husband’s return. “I hope it’s only a few weeks, but it could be longer,” she said.

According to BC communication professor Michael Korcok, Lechtrek is a great asset to the BC debate team as well as a “hard-working volunteer man.”

Lechtrek wants the BC community to know that the affected areas are in critical condition, yet “things are getting better, people are going back to what’s left of their homes. The victims are being taken care of, they’re being supplied with water, batteries, clothing, and food, all the essentials.”

Bakersfield local venue, Fishlips Bar and Grill, was not left behind when it came to relief efforts. Along with Bakotopia, World Records, Mexicali, and Randy Urner’s Outside, a fundraiser was organized Sept. 14, titled Bakersfield’s Royalty of Rock Hurricane Katrina Benefit Show. According to co-creator of Fishlips, Shawna Haddad Byers, the event was a “huge success. We were happy to do it, and we did it right.”

The event was sold out and over a dozen local headliner bands participated in the event. “The local headliners were happy to donate their time,” said Byers.

Over all, $6,000 were donated by those who attended and all proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross.

According to Mildred Lavato, BC vice president of student learning, who is in charge of identifying programs to involve students in relief efforts, said the following: “The relief efforts are going well. These types of events take a lot of coordination. So far I’m very pleased with the number of students, faculty and staff that are asking ‘What can I do?’ “