Students Launch
"Save Thorna" Fundraiser
Students Launch
"Save Thorna" Fundraiser
Who
says apathy is high among York students? A group of students recently banded together for
an awareness and fundraising campaign. Students across campus were outraged when they
heard that York's president, Thorna Marsbar, makes $200,000 a year. Although she has
requested a $50,000 raise, this has not yet been approved. Students wondered how someone
could survive on such a paltry amount. The sympathetic students set up a table in Central
Square, where they sold "Save Thorna" bumper stickers and collected donations.
"I just felt that something needed to be done," said organizer Jen Uinestudent.
"Nobody should be forced to live in that kind of poverty."
One student, who wishes to remain anonymous, donated a large sum to the cause. "I
mean, tuition only cost $4,000 this year, and I made almost that much at my summer job at
the Thorna Moon ice cream store. I can't live in the lap of luxury when someone else is in
need."
The students are planning a benefit concert later this month. World-famous musician Spring
is taking time out from advocating human rights in South America to attend. "There
are peasant farmers trying to feed their families on degraded land," he said in a
recent interview, "but that doesn't even compare to what poor Thorna is going
through."
Even singer Welton Don is helping out. He has written new lyrics to "Candle in the
Wind," to make people around the world aware of Thorna's plight.
"I'm deeply touched," said President Marsbar of the response. "It's tough.
I may have to put off buying my new Mercedes, and I may even have to sell my summer home
in Hawaii. Sometimes I wonder how I'll make it through the next day. But, knowing people
care makes all the difference in the world."
March, 1999
(Published in the Bethune College Lexicon, Vol. 27, Issue 10, April 5th, 1999)
