Political prisoner speaks out on military dictatorship in Burma

M o re t h a n 4 , 7 0 0 n e w a n d slightly used coats for people in n ee d of w in te r c lo th in g w e r e donated la s t s e m e s te r to se t a re c o rd in th e s e v e n th a n n u a l Project W arm th campaign, con­ ducted Oct. 28 to Dec. 6. C o m p e t i t i o n to c o l l e c t t h e coats was strong between some residence halls. Zahm Hall won with 898 coats with nearly four p e r r e s i d e n t a n d Lyons H all donated 679 for an av e rag e of three per resident to place sec­ ond. “I have n e v e r se en so m a n y people so fired up abou t doing good,” said David G rennan . “It made me think twice abou t the supposed lack of gene ros ity in the world today.” S tudent coordinator Elizabeth Zw ickert an d ta sk force m e m ­ b e r s K a th ryn Eisele, M a rg a re t M organ , Colin W alsh and Tom T i m m e r m a n s p r e p a r e d t h e co a ts for r e d is t r ib u t io n to the h o m e l e s s a n d o r g a n i z e d th e contest am ong the dorms. Z w ic k e r t s a id th e u n p r e c e ­ dented num ber of coats donated might have had something to do w ith th e t a s k f o rc e ’s c o m m it ­ m en t to getting the word out. “Everyone w orked very hard , and they worked with a smile,” s a id Z w ic k e r t . “T h a t is w h a t helped us b reak the record by so m uch .” St. Michael's Laundry washed every single coat free of charge and then supplied the m anpow ­ e r to sort, bag and transpo r t the c o a t s b a c k to th e C e n te r fo r Social Concerns. “St. M i c h a e l ’s r e a l l y w a s am azing,” said Zwickert. “Their entire operation shut down ju s t to c l e a n t h e s e c o a t s fo r th e poor.” Valerie Aguilar donated a fulll e n g t h c o a t t h a t h e r G r a n d m o t h e r m a d e a n d h a d given to her mother. “I thought it would be good to g ive it in h e r m e m o r y , ” s a id Aguilar. “I know it’s special, but it’s senseless to have two coats when there a re people out there freezing.” A lu m n i a l so to o k a n a c t iv e role in collection. Over 50 differ­ en t N otre Dam e A lum ni Clubs a c r o s s th e c o u n t ry m a i le d in boxes filled with coats, often col­ lected a t local bars during game watches. Project W arm th also received o v e r 2 0 0 c o a t s f ro m b o th M a r i a n H ig h s c h o o l in M i s h a w a k a a n d H o n e y w e l l A i r c r a f t L a n d i n g S y s te m s in South Bend. About 1,000 coats w ere deliv­ ered to 22 Ways of Giving, affili­ ated with Channel WSVP, to dis­ tr ibute am ong non-profit o rgani­ za tions w ith w hich the s ta t ion works. Five h u n d re d coats will be sent with s tudents volunteer­ ing in Appalachia during spring break. T h e r e s t o f t h e c o a t s w e r e delivered to various community se rv ice o rg an iz a t io n s in South Bend, inc luding St. M a rg a re t ’s H o u s e , t h e S a lv a t io n A rm y , Center for the Homeless and St. Vincent DePaul.