UNL group in China unharmed by quake
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By MELISSA LEE / Lincoln Journal Star
Thirty University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, two faculty members and one assistant who arrived in China over the weekend for engineering and business study abroad programs were unharmed in Monday’s earthquake, UNL officials said.
Members of the group are studying at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, some 500 miles from the epicenter of the quake in Sichuan Province in west-central China.
As of Tuesday, the quake’s death toll exceeded 12,000 and is expected to rise.
The Salvation Army is working to provide emergency assistance to survivors of Monday’s earthquake in China, which left at least 12,000 dead and hundreds of thousands injured.
Monetary donations earmarked “Disaster Relief-China Earthquake” may be sent to The Salvation Army, 3612 Cuming St., Omaha, NE, 68131. Donations also may be made online at www.givesalvationarmy.org or by calling 1-800-SALARMY.
UNL China the video
University of Nebraska-Lincoln study-abroad students were taking pictures on the Xi’an Jiaotong University campus when Monday’s deadly earthquake struck. Although the students were 500 miles from the quake, they still felt tremors. One student recorded video that was featured on CNN.com. See the video at www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-21467.
In e-mails to family, friends and colleagues back home, the UNL students said they felt only slight tremors from the earthquake, said Peter Levitov, associate dean of international affairs.
The students were taking photographs near a pond and bridge on the Xi’an Jiaotong campus at the time of the quake. Several of them got wet when tremors caused water to splash onto them.
One student recorded a minute-long video of the tremors that was featured on CNN.com Tuesday afternoon.
A few buildings in Xi’an collapsed, Levitov said from his office in Lincoln, and the city of 8 million reported about 60 deaths.
Monday night, a small aftershock rippled through Xi’an, and the UNL students and faculty were advised to leave their dorm rooms and wait outside until it passed, Levitov said.
When they returned, they set bottles upside down in their rooms so they’d wake up in case of future rumblings, he said.
Group leaders have been in contact with UNL officials in Lincoln, and all of the students notified their families that they’re safe.
Study-abroad programs end June 3, and classes and lectures are continuing as scheduled, Levitov said. UNL has no plans to bring anyone home early unless the students’ safety is threatened.
UNL has a strong relationship with Xi’an Jiaotong University, recently partnering with the highly ranked school to establish a Confucius Institute in Lincoln. The institute, led by Chinese faculty, aims to teach Chinese language and culture to the university and city communities.
No Nebraska Wesleyan University students are studying in China right now, said spokeswoman Sara Olson.
One Wesleyan political science faculty member is conducting research in Nanjing, hundreds of miles east of Sichuan Province. She reported feeling tremors but is unharmed, Olson said.
Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.
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