Pharmacy students show support for victims of Paris terror attacks

When a series of terror attacks shook Paris, the world donned the colors of the French flag in support, draping everything from buildings to Facebook profile pictures in red, white and blue.

However, for a group of students in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, that was not enough.

To show solidarity with the Paris Descartes University Pharmacy School, the students organized a fundraiser and held banner signings that collected words of encouragement from nearly 200 members of the UB community.

The banner, which reads “We Are Here For You,” will be shipped this week to Paris Descartes. The fundraiser, which is selling white ribbons to symbolize peace, already has raised $300 to support international relief teams.

“When the attacks on Sept. 11 happened, I remembered how supportive the world was to us. We wanted to show that same support to the world and let them know they’re not going through this alone,” says Susan Liu, a pharmacy graduate students and service chair for the professional pharmacy fraternity Lambda Kappa Sigma.

The project was led by Lambda Kappa Sigma, the UB chapter of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA), Liu and pharmacy graduate students Johnathan You and Isabella Lee.

The students hope to reach their goal of $1,000 by Dec. 11. Online donations are welcome.

By having supporters wear the ribbons, the groups aim to spread the mission beyond SPPS to the rest of the campus and Buffalo communities, says Justin Bui, MBA and pharmacy graduate student and SNPhA president-elect.

“I think this could be a good way to jumpstart something bigger,” says Bui, who also helped direct the project. “Our long-term vision is to have other students across UB help out and support Paris.”

The students and faculty of the pharmacy school have a long history of collaborating with Paris Descartes.

Every year, UB faculty travel to the university to attend a symposium on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and William Jusko, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, recently was awarded the honorary title of Doctor Honoris Causa by Paris Descartes.

The pharmacy school also is hosting Olivia Campagne, a pharmacometrics doctoral student from Paris Descartes who is completing her research at UB.

“I was touched to see all this solidarity from many students,” says Campagne. “Being far away from Paris, my family and friends during this terrible time was difficult because you feel so powerless; you wish you could be there to support or just simply to be there.

“The support that you all show — from the banner, the fundraising project and your presence — really meant a lot to me,” she says. “And I know that everyone at Paris Descartes will feel touched and thankful, too.”