UC Irvine's chapter
of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) holds an arm-wrestling
competition titled “Flex Your Muscles for Haiti” Saturday to raise money
for the ongoing disaster relief efforts.
After
hearing stories brought on by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake–along with numerous aftershocks–the recently launched local chapter of the
internationally recognized PHR decided to
organize a fundraiser to help raise money for the citizens of Haiti.
]
“By harnessing the natural
competitive spirit that exists between members of the Greek system on campus,
we stand to raise thousands of dollars for disaster relief efforts in
Haiti,” said Tommy
Hand, the founder and president of PHR, whose membership is mostly drawn from the UCI School of Medicine.
To
enter the competition, male and female students will register in teams of six
and four, respectively. Each team pays a registration fee, which provides the bulk of proceeds for the fundraiser. Male competitors will be grouped
according to weight–light, medium and heavy builds–while female competitors
will be divided by height into “Petite” and “Regular” classes. Solo competitors
and those students who are not in fraternities or sororities are encouraged to
register. Registration is $15 for each man and $10 for each woman. To enter, contact Ignacio Velazquez at
na*****@gm***.com
with your team members' names and contact information.
The PHR are hoping people from throughout the Orange County community will turn out to cheer everyone on from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. A suggested
donation of $5 will be sought from each spectator. Ground zero is the UCI Student Center, Pacific
Ballroom D, 3900 Pereira Drive, Irvine.
Winners receive prizes donated from local businesses and, more importantly, bragging rights.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.