JSA hosts benefit dinner for disaster relief in Japan

Two weeks ago during spring break, Biotechnology graduate student Mai Tsukikawa had feared the worst.

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake had shaken the part of Japan where her father was stationed. He had reached safety in Tokyo, but told his daughter he had to return to his home just 40 kilometers from the nuclear power plant seemingly poised for meltdown.

“I was just in disbelief,” said Tsukikawa, in Philadelphia at the time. The government had asked her father, a physician, to return to the hospital in his city to tend to injured survivors.

And he is still there now, working in the hospital despite the specter of radiation sickness, Tsukikawa told a packed Hall of Flags on Thursday, where her story highlighted the Japan Student Association’s benefit dinner for disaster relief in Japan. The evening raised over $1,500, adding to the $20,000 total that Penn undergraduates and Wharton MBA students have raised in the past two weeks, according to JSA Co-President and Wharton junior Ryun Hobbs.

“What you’re doing here tonight is the best of Penn,” University Chaplain Charles Howard said in his opening remarks. “Much more than money is needed. Hearts are needed.”

The event featured performances by the Penn Glee Club, KBeats, Mask and Wig, the Pan-Asian Dance Troupe and the Excelano Project. Among the acts, the Glee Club’s sonorous rendition of “Amazing Grace” seemed to especially strike a chord with the audience.

Some students in attendance had personal ties to the quake. David Thayer, a College junior who spent his summer and fall semester in Japan, “definitely wanted to be here to offer my support.” He has successfully contacted one of the host families he stayed with during his study abroad in Kyoto, but his other host family — a poor elderly couple — has not responded to his attempts to get in touch.

A number of students, including Wharton freshman Sam Hougie, heard about the event via Facebook. Hougie appreciated the generosity of Penn students, saying that while “no one had to pay [to attend the event], I feel like everyone brought a donation.”

College senior Blake Kimmey enjoyed the cultural aspect to the evening. “I was interested in helping out in any way that I can, and I thought this was something fun.”

The JSA plans to continue its relief efforts with “Iron Chef” and “Penn’s Got Talent” competitions in the near future.

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