PMC RESPONDS TO THE TRAGEDY OF 9/11/2001
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 PMC
Community Service Helps with September 11 Disaster Relief in Massachusetts
Pine Manor College students and staff provided community service to
raise funds for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts on Veteran’s
Day. Two months to the day after the September 11 tragedy, PMC students
and employees helped raise funds to assist families in Massachusetts
who were affected by our nation’s tragedy. Rosemary Casey, Assistant
Director of Institutional Technology at PMC, initiated the volunteer
efforts to hold a community benefit at the Crowne Plaza in Natick that
included live music; a DJ; comedy; magic; great raffle prizes, and wonderful
food, all donated by local entertainers, companies and restaurants.
According to the American Red Cross, there were more than 400 families
in the Bay State who were affected and in need of supportive assistance
and, being from Massachusetts, would not qualify for the NYC aid. Casey,
like many in our country, said she “just wanted to do something
to help in some way and bring the community together as a way of healing.”
A lot of work went into quickly planning and executing the fundraiser,
which Casey pulled off in only a few weeks. Pine Manor students who
serve on the Community Service Committee volunteered to help, as did
staff, faculty and PMC’s food service company, Aramark. Successful
in raising almost $5,000, the event was attended by approximately 350
persons, including Liz McGann, Registrar; President Gloria Nemerowicz
and family; Rhonda Seidman, Director of ELI; Karen Andersen Viola, formerly
of Development; and PMC Students: Sarah Bernardi; Amanda Beane; Kellie
Moore; Tania Benway; Nadia McIntosh; Sandra Enwright; Ashley Randall;
Shuntell Constantine; Sophea Chan. Others from Pine Manor College who
supported the event by making a contribution included Sid Abdullah,
Professor of Economics; Susan Butler, Assistant Professor of Photography;
and Gail Young, Director Major Gifts.
The Pine Manor students were very helpful at the event, says Casey,
by decorating the room with red, white, and blue balloons; helping with
traffic flow at the door; passing out glow sticks to the children (and
some adults) who attended; providing face painting; helping with the
food organization and overall contributing a wonderful spirit of giving!
The students were even seen out on the dance floor at the end of the
night! In addition to organizing the event, Casey also played tenor
saxophone for the Tangomatics, one of the three bands that performed
that evening. Other entertainment for the evening included: The Fatwall
Jack Band; The Screaming Vincent’s; Comedian Jimmy Tingle; Magician
Frankie D.; and DJ Mike Maher. The Crowne Plaza donated the ballroom
and appetizers while many local restaurants donated food, including:
Ken’s Steak House; Equinox Grill; Dah Mee; the Villa Restaurant;
Bertucci’s; Pizza Uno, and Pine Manor College’s Aramark. Local
companies donated great raffle prizes, including BOSE Corporation which
contributed a BOSE Wave Radio; General Cinema, which gave several pair
of movie tickets and a $50 gift certificate to Premier Dining in Framingham;
Boston Company Brookfield US, which donated Celtics tickets; Bread &
Circus, which donated a $50 gift certificate, and many more local businesses.
All in all, there were a lot of winners at this event!
On Monday evening, November 19, the Diversity Committee sponsored a
talk by Dr. Chandrokant Panse, husband of PMC’s Assistant Professor
of Biology and Chemistry Ujwala Panse, and Professor of Immunology and
Biochemistry at Boston University and Professor of Biotechnology at
Mass Bay Community College, on “International Terrorism and the
Role of US Media.” The presentation began with an overview of international
terrorism over the past century. It then examined the “clash of
civilizations” as the cause of this terrorism. Finally, it focused
on errors of commission and omission in the coverage of terrorism made
by media, concluding with a discussion of the role that media must play
for a democracy to function.
At the beginning of the new year a new organizational structure was
formed to address the needs of the international students, partially
as a response to the impact of 9/11 on the international student body.
The team consists of Tammis Boam, International Student Advisor for
non- academic matters, including visas and student permits; Gorkem Kantor,
International Student Activities Coordinator; and Andrea Roderick, International
Student Recruiter. An International Student Advisory Group was also
created that will report to Dean of Student Life Denise Alleyne.
Communication major Barbara Joy Gordon ’01 who interned in
the Bulletin office contributed to this report. A Washington,
DC, native, Ms. Gordon hopes to work in her field in Washington.
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