Across campus, many students have been caught up in the nation-wide excitement of the election of Barack Obama. It is easy to feel inspired by Obama’s words, but translating this enthusiasm into action can prove to be more difficult.
Community involvement at Lawrence can take many forms. For those who
want to help improve many aspects of how the University operates can either join L.U.C.C. or attend their meetings at 4:30 every Monday in Riverview.
The Volunteer Center offers many opportunities for students to work in a hands-on fashion with the greater Appleton community. Whether setting-up Lawrentians with students to tutor or notifying them when a local organization needs help with a special event, the Volunteer Center is a great resource to have on-campus.
Maintaining a basic political level in keeping updating on current events, informing oneself and developing one’s own opinion seem to be synonymous with a liberal arts education. The University does a great job of facilitating this by providing all the residence halls with free copies of the New York Times and by keeping an extensive up-to-date periodical section on the second floor of the library. Joining groups like College Republicans, College Democrats and Greenfire whose focus extends past campus is a great way to channel this interest into a larger discussion and/or action.
Maybe the acts that could have the biggest impact are the little ones done everyday whether interacting with peers or contributing to your residence hall community.
It can be easy for students to feel frustrated at their perceived inability to take a bigger part in these excited times, but we encourage them to take steps to enact the change they want to see however small they may seem.
Staff Ed: Community Involvement – jbs
