UC Berkeley Web Feature
Chancellor Birgeneau's message on South Asia earthquake
To Berkeley faculty, staff, students, and alumni:
Once again there has been a terrible natural disaster. The earthquake that struck Pakistan and parts of India and Afghanistan on Saturday morning seems almost overwhelming as we see, once again, the shocking images of entire communities wiped out by the forces of nature. Just last week, on top of Hurricane Katrina, a much less noticed hurricane devastated parts of Central America.
It reminds us that UC Berkeley is a global community. We are not only shocked and saddened by events around the world, we know there are many among us — staff, students and faculty — with direct ties to these regions. I join all members of our campus community in extending our sincere sympathy to all those whose family or friends have been affected.
Although we live and work in earthquake country, we can only imagine the swift and devastating nature of this weekend's earthquake, which, according to recent reports, has left 35,000 dead and another 2.5 million in need of shelter.
As we have in other disasters, our campus community stands ready to rally together and help those in need.
Yours sincerely,
Robert J. Birgeneau,
Chancellor