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Help for Japan

Four Washington and Lee organizations raised more than $1,800 in a Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Campaign. Mary Knighton, a visiting assistant professor of Japanese, coordinated the effort.

Student Association for International Learning (SAIL), Pan Asian Association for Cultural Exchange (PAACE), and the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department (EALL) partnered with the Nabors Service League to conduct the month-long drive, which included the construction of origami peace cranes that they will send to Japan.

“The generosity of the community in the face of the sudden call for volunteers to sit at the tables, as well as the generosity of contributors with nickels, dimes and some $100 checks, in three short weeks, is truly remarkable,” said Mary.

Proceeds from the drive have been sent to the Japan Red Cross Society.

Mary has a personal connection to Japan. Her husband, Scott Gold, works in Tokyo and sent the photograph here that shows the Tokyo Tower, normally a well-lighted landmark, as it now appears — in the dark, as a way of saving electricity. The lone message on the tower reads “Ganbaro Nippon,” which means “Hang Tough, Japan.”