In response to Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, NC State’s National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), has launched Mission Impossible: Save Flint Michigan in an attempt to raise $1,000 to help residents in need. NPHC is an organization consisting of nine historically African-American, international Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities.
To expedite its fundraising efforts, NPHC will be tabling a “Penny War” in Talley Student Union Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a competition between the NPHC, Panhellenic Association of NC State, Intrafraternity Council, Society of African American Culture, Alpha Pi Omega and Order of Omega. All students, faculty and staff regardless of Greek affiliation are encouraged to donate. The prize for winning is seven front row tickets to the Pan-African step show.
“We’re giving back to the community and to people that need it,” said Marcus Tisdale, a sophomore studying engineering.
Pennies are worth positive points and silver coins, or negative points, can be placed into an opponent’s bucket to sabotage their chance at winning the Penny War.
The money raised will be sent to the United Way of Genesee County (UWGC), which has set up the Flint Water Fund for the purchase of filters, bottled water, emergency support services and prevention efforts. All of the donations to this fund will be used for their projects.
The UWGC has sourced over 11,000 filter systems and 5,000 replacement filters, ongoing sources of bottled water to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan and also supports a dedicated driver for daily distribution.
On April 25, 2014, Flint, Michigan, started using water from the long-polluted Flint River as a cost-effective measure for the struggling city.
On Jan. 16, Obama declared a state of emergency in the city and surrounding county, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide up to $5 million in aid.
In addition to federal aid, state and local efforts, other organizations and groups like NPHC of NC State have been working to raise money.
“The crisis doesn’t just impact Flint, Michigan, it impacts what environmental agencies are permitting, even here in North Carolina,” said Ivy Jones, a sophomore studying Nutrition. “Water is a natural resource that many people depend on for a variety of different things and the well-being of many people is affected due to this issue.”
In August 2014, city officials issued a boil-water advisory after coliform bacteria was detected in tap water. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality blames cold weather, aging pipes and a population decline.
Flash-forward to the year 2015. A local pediatrician, Mona Hanna-Attisha, alerted officials in September about her concerns pertaining to the water. The number of Flint children with elevated levels of lead in their blood had risen alarmingly since the city changed its water supply the previous year.
An official from the Department of Environmental Quality said the pediatrician’s remarks were “unfortunate.” The authorities had insisted for months that the water met federal and state standards.
However, Hanna-Attisha was not wrong. High levels of lead have been present in the water system for over a year. Tests showed that some water samples had over 11 parts per billion of lead. This is enough to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of “toxic waste” according to a group of Virginia Tech researchers.
“This could have been nipped in the bud before last summer,” said Daniel Giammar, an environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis.
