David Elwell, the director of the International Students and Scholars Office, said that according to available information, none of the 86 Brandeis students from South Asia were directly impacted by the deadly earthquake and ensuing tsunami that struck Dec. 26 and claimed the lives of at least 175,000 people.Since the disaster occurred during break, Elwell said that it was incredibly difficult for his staff not to hear from students who live near the affected areas.

"We are still trying to figure out the impact on the community, both direct, with effects on their own lives and families, or indirect, with impact on their friends and countries of origin," Elwell said. "For us, it's indicative that we really are a global community at Brandeis."

According to a CNN report, the lethal waves devastated 12 countries in South Asia, most severely of which were Indonesia with casualties mounting to approximately 115,000 by some counts. The Sri Lankan death toll is around 30,000.

Elwell said that most of the students from the region come from central and northern India, which is far from the affected areas.

According to Director of Student Life Alwina Bennett, no students postponed their arrival time to campus. But she said that the administration is "respecting the privacy of those profoundly affected and are not releasing information about individual students, alumni or their families at this time."

Jackie Suckhontarut '07, a native of Thailand, was in Bangkok when the event occurred. He was not affected because the tsunami was limited to the southern portion of the country.

"I went back [to Thailand] to visit my family and we planned to go down to the islands that were affected but luckily we didn't go down," he said.

Since the disaster, Suckhontarut has been helping with donation management in Thailand.

Jin Kim '07, who lived in Thailand for 10 years, said that he was shocked by the magnitude of the disaster. Like Suckhontarut, his plans to travel to the country were canceled just before the earthquake.

"I don't have friends who passed away but some of my friends stayed on top of the mountain on Phi Phi Island where they saw it with their own eyes, but were not affected by it," Kim said.

Kim said that his friend's father was directly impacted by the tsunami, so he is currently donating money, clothing and food to help his friend's family.

The University held a vigil on Jan. 14 in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater which around 50 people attended. The service was comprised of speeches from members of the Brandeis community, including University President Jehuda Reinharz and Elwell. Several departments and student groups are currently organizing fundraising campaigns and events to promote awareness about the tsunami and relief efforts.

Vanita Neelakanta, president of the Graduate Student Association, was among several people who spoke at the vigil last Friday. She was in India when the tsunami struck.

"I was in South India at the time, celebrating Christmas with my family," Neelakanta said. "We felt the tremor, but it was mild and we thought little of it until we turned on our television sets a few hours later and saw the face of death. We were the lucky ones. It was only on a screen."

Milanga Abeysuriya, a graduate student at the Heller School, is originally from Sri Lanka. She was in the United States when the tsunami occurred.

"I was not physically affected by what happened but I have family who live in Sri Lanka and they were not directly affected by the tsunami," she said. "But I think anybody from Sri Lanka has been impacted-either directly or indirectly-by what happened," Abeysuriya said.

There will be an event held in the Heller School on Jan. 18. Members of the community are invited to discuss different points of view and specific American response to the tragedy.

The Intercultural Center will hold a tsunami relief effort program with a forum on Jan. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium and an open meeting on Jan. 21 to discuss plans to help raise money and unify the community.

"I look forward to working with other administrators, staff, faculty and students to explore ideas on how to meaningfully contribute to Tsunami Relief," Talukdar said. "I am thankful that, as far as I know, there are no students who have been directly impacted by this tragedy.