Generous biology students appear on The Rick Mercer Report
Two undergraduate Department of Biology classes in the Faculty of Science combined their efforts and won the 2009-10 Spread the Net Challenge. Together, they raised more than $7,000 for the purchase of bed nets, one of the most effective ways to ward off mosquitoes that spread malaria around the world and, especially, throughout countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Each year since 2007, Rick Mercer, the celebrity television host from CBC and co-president of the Spread the Net Challenge, has encouraged high school and university students from across Canada to contribute to the campaign. This year, in a unique twist, he invited schools and universities from eastern Canada to take on their western counterparts. In the end, the University of Ottawa won the contest for the east and Simon Fraser University in British Columbia for the west.
Last September, in a spontaneous moment of generosity, Professor Jon Houseman, who teaches an exceptionally large first-year biology class, passed the hat around to his roughly 1,000 students and raised $3,000 in record time.
Professor Jeremy Kerr's second-year ecology students took up the Spread the Net challenge also and spearheaded a series of fundraising activities throughout the fall. Professor Kerr's involvement with the Spread the Net campaign continues his malaria research and teaching (with Dr. Manisha Kulkarni and Rachelle Desrochers) in Africa, which also included a large bednet donation.
Don't miss the special segment dedicated to the concerted efforts of the winners, which will air on The Rick Mercer Report (external site) on CBC television Tuesday, March 16 at 8 p.m. (repeat on Friday at 8 p.m.).
By Nadine Saint-Amour
Published: March 2010
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