End of the Semester Motivation – Another Reason to Get Involved!

Well, another semester is almost in the books, and I am feeling pretty stressed! With papers piling up and tests looming closer and closer with each passing day I have to say that I’ve begun to question why I am putting myself through all this…torture. So with motivation flagging, I find that recalling what’s meant a lot to me during this school year as a whole gives me the energy to sprint down the homestretch, and co-curricular involvement has provided the most inspiring memories I have to fall back on.

During my first year at CSU I got involved right away. Starting with Cans Around I was able to see what a group of dedicated people can do, we raised an amazing amount of money and food for the Larimer County Food Bank. Knowing that I played a small part in making a pretty sizable difference in Fort Collins feels pretty good.
I also participated in Campus Step Up. Getting the opportunity to talk to others about identity dynamics, and how I can be an ally for people identifying within subordinated identity groups totally changed my perception. I think the most poignant moment that made me reevaluate my views came during an identity circles activity. People with subordinated identities were given the chance to communicate what they needed from allies and talk about the myths and prejudices surrounding their specific identities. The most memorable example came from a person identifying as a woman, she said something to the effect of, “sexual violence against women isn’t a woman’s issue, it is a men’s issue. You need to work with your brothers to end it.” While I know victim blaming and misappropriation of guilt are horrible, I hadn’t thought about sexual assault in this light before, which raises my biggest take away from this event. The point of dominant identities and why they are so powerful lies in the fact that their members don’t have to be conscious of their difference. The privileges and power that come with dominant identities are considered normal and right, whereas the attributes associated with subordinated identities are considered against the norm and to a certain extent wrong. So by simply being more aware of the power and privilege I enjoy–power and privilege I haven’t necessarily earned–I can use it to the benefit of those in subjugated groups.

Probably the most memorable and impactful event I have participated in since I got to CSU would be the 2011 Alternative Spring Break to Tucson, Arizona. I could write a book about this experience. I experienced firsthand a small part of what immigrants have to conquer while crossing the Sonoran desert. I was well fed, had plenty of water, slept in sleeping bags with multiple pads on the ground, and had good clothing and equipment but was still exhausted after every day and barely got any sleep at night. I can’t imagine having to cross with limited supplies and marginal-at-best equipment. There are no walls along this section of the border, all that separates Mexico and the United States in places is a hip high, rusted barbed wire fence. Clearly our intention is not to keep people from crossing at places like this, but to use the harshness of the terrain as a deterrent, and if enough people die the hope is that people will stop crossing. This has not been the case in the past 20 years as people continue to cross. As I said, I could continue about this experience for a while, and I’ll post more about it in the future.

So with all this to remember, I have a hard time getting discouraged. All I can think of is what I can get involved with next semester, and how I can continue to use the knowledge I’ve gained to make this world a better place.

Why You Need to Go On an Alt Break: Volume 6 – Seattle, WA

I must say I am pretty excited about this year’s trip to Seattle. The agencies Chantal and her two other co-leaders are working with sound amazing, and I could probably write about them at length, but I’ll let her tell you what’s up:

“This year, three fantastic women will lead a group of students to magical Seattle, WA to work with 3 amazing agencies. We will split our time between the Somali Refugee Coalition, the original Dream Project and the Post-Prison Education Program. All three focus on helping those who are about to fall through the cracks of society, or who already have. It will be a great way to help at risk youth who need positive role models in their lives.  We will do plenty of sight-seeing, coffee drinking and all-around bonding as well! Come have the week of your life, in Seattle, with us!”

Why You Need to Go On an Alt Break: Volume 5 – Moab, UT

Whew, there have been a lot of awesome trips highlighted thus far, but just you wait, there is much more to come. Our 5th post in this series serves as “case in point!” If you thought you’d totally settled on a trip for this spring, sorry to make your decision a little harder. Here’s what Katie, one of Moab’s two co-leaders has to say about their trip:

“Hey all you nature-lovers!!! Who wants to go save the environment over spring break?! Come to Moab, Utah with other students for a camping trip over spring break! We will help remove invasive species around the area and go on some sweet hikes in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks! The views will undoubtedly blow your mind. Don’t hesitate any longer….apply to go to Moab over your spring break today!!”

You can check out more about Moab and the agency you could be working with here. And remember, Alt Break apps are due THIS WEDNESDAY! Get yours here!

Why You Need to Go On an Alt Break: Volume 4 – Eustis, FL

Well, our 4th installment of this series is a pretty great one. 2011-2012 marks the first year SLiCE is sponsoring an all Greek ASB! The trip is in Eustis, FL and…well…I’ll just let Caiti, one of the trip’s co-leaders, tell you more:

“This year is the first year that there is a Greek specific trip. This trip is going to Eustis, Florida to work at Camp Boggy Creek, a camp for terminally ill kids. Beau and I are both Greek, and are extremely excited to lead the first all Greek trip. We are hoping that this trip will strengthen the Greek community. This trip will be a week of fun in the Florida sun. There will be hard work, but plenty of time to have fun as well.”

And here is a bit about Camp Boggy Creek from their site:

“Camp Boggy Creek is specifically designed for children with chronic or life threatening illnesses and allows them to safely enjoy the activities of a ‘traditional’ camp. Between early morning swims and evening campfires, children whose lives have been a series of medical procedures and hospital stays are transformed into just ‘kids.’ They have a chance to be with others coping with the same illness or condition and realize that they are not alone.”

Why You Need to Go On an Alt Break This Year: Volume 2 – Catalina, CA

Well, I must say that this latest installment of the 2011-2012 Alt Break highlight series is the best yet. Adrienne, the Student Coordinator for the Alt Break program and co-leader for this year’s Catalina, CA trip graces us with her passion and awesomeness in the paragraphs below. I’ll let her speak for herself: 

“Alternative Breaks remains the highlight of my CSU experience so far.  Since I began my involvement as a freshman, I have gained valuable perspective on multiple social issues and met some of my closest friends through the program.

As a freshman, I traveled to Independence, CA to do environmental restoration at Manzanar, one of the Japanese Internment camps instated during WWII.  We learned the in-depth history of the site and heard inspiring stories of the courageous families unfairly interned at Manzanar.  Last year, as a sophomore, I was a Co-Site Leader for the animal welfare trip to Kanab, UT to work at the Best Friend’s animal sanctuary.  We did facility restoration, trail maintenance, and socialized with all types of animals who had been abused, abandoned, or just in need of a home and loving companion.  This year, as a junior, I am the co-Site Leader for Catalina, CA where we will work on the removal of invasive species on the island and I am also the Student Coordinator for Alt. Break program.

All of the trips I was and am involved with have been very different.  The history of the Japanese internment camps might not matter to everyone, but it matters to someone so it does matter.  Not everyone cares about animal welfare but it matters.  Not everyone cares about environmental issues but they matter. This is how I approach every new year with Alt. Breaks and this is why I think it’s easy for this experience to be so impactful; We hope participants go on trips focusing on something they are passionate about or want to learn more about, but no matter what trip they go on, it matters.

The Alt. Break slogan is, ‘Let the world change you so you can change the world.’  Not only did I find a sense of purpose as a young adult but I learned the impact of direct service in the social issues I care most about.  I think of Alternative Breaks as a way to “bridge the gap”;  We bridge the gap between feeling unproductive over Spring Break and doing something fulfilling and with intention, we bridge the gap between communities that, in some ways, seem polarized, and we bridge the gap between simply caring about an issue and actively doing something about it.

Alt. Breaks are service-learning trips across the United States and around the world that immerse CSU students in issues including homelessness, animal welfare, environmental restoration, Native American reservations, at risk youth, immigration, ecotourism and sustainability, refugees, and women’s issues.  Because our trips focus on a range of social issues pertaining to many majors and personal interests, the program attracts a diverse group of participants.

 

I encourage CSU student from all backgrounds who want to bridge the gap to their next defining experience at CSU to apply for an Alternative Break!”

Ditto Adrienne, ditto!

A Cure for End of the Semester Apathy

                Well, another year is almost in the books, and I am feeling pretty stressed! I have to say that I’ve begun to question why I am putting myself through all this…torture. So with motivation flagging, I find that recalling what’s meant a lot to me during this school year as a whole gives me the energy to sprint down the homestretch, and co-curricular involvement has provided the most inspiring memories I have to fall back on.

This has been my first year at CSU, and I am proud to say I got involved right away. Starting with Cans Around the Oval I was able to see what a group of dedicated people can do, we raised $37,000 and over 60,000 pounds of food for the Larimer County Food Bank. Knowing that I played a small part in making a pretty sizable difference in Fort Collins feels pretty good.

I also participated in Campus Step Up this year. Getting the opportunity to talk to others about identity dynamics, and how I can be an ally for people identifying within subordinated identity groups totally changed my perception. I think the most poignant moment that made me reevaluate my views came during an ally circle activity. People with subordinated identities on the outer circle were given the chance to communicate what they needed from allies who were seated in the middle of the circle. The most memorable example came from a person identifying as a woman. She said something to the effect of, “sexual violence against women isn’t a woman’s issue, it is a men’s issue. You need to work with your brothers to end it.” While I know victim blaming and misappropriation of guilt are horrible, I hadn’t thought about sexual assault in this light before, which brings me to my biggest take away from this event. The point of dominant identities and why they are so powerful lies in the fact that their members don’t have to be conscious of their difference. The privilege and power that comes with a dominant identity are considered normal and right, whereas attributes associated with subordinated groups are considered “against the norm” and to a certain extent wrong. So by simply being more aware of the power and privilege I enjoy–power and privilege I haven’t necessarily earned–I can use it to the benefit of those in subjugated groups. I am continuing to learn more about how these things play out in my everyday life, and jump at any chance to learn more about myself and how I can help others do the same.

Probably the most memorable and impactful event of this year would be my Alternative Spring Break to Tucson, Arizona working with No More Deaths. I could write a book about this experience, but suffice it to say that I was made aware of how ruthless American policy can be. I was able to experience firsthand a small part of what immigrants have to conquer while crossing the Sonoran desert. I was well fed, had plenty of water, slept in sleeping bags with multiple pads on the ground, and had good clothing and equipment but was still exhausted after every day and barely got any sleep at night. I can’t imagine having to cross with limited supplies and marginal-at-best equipment. I learned that’s the point though. There are no walls along this section of the border, all that separates Mexico and the United States is a hip high, rusted barbed wire property fence. Clearly our intention is not to keep people from crossing at places like this, our intent is that they should die a slow and painful death while crossing, and if enough people die the hope is that people will stop crossing, which has been proven false over the past 10 years. As I said, I could continue on about this experience for a while, and I’ll post more about it in the future, but I think my biggest take away from this experience was found in how our guides led through their actions. They were volunteers and to the untrained eye we would have looked like a big group on vacation camping, that’s how much our guides enjoyed what they were doing. I got to see firsthand the impact a few passionate and dedicated individuals can have. They helped solidify my drive to make something real happen in our community too.

So with all this to remember, I have a hard time getting discouraged. All I can think of is what I can get involved with next semester, and how I can continue to use the knowledge I’ve gained to make this world a better place to live.

Come together with CSUnity

There is something inspiring about a huge group of students walking up to an office’s front desk and saying “put me to work, doesn’t matter what it is, I’ll do it for free.” That’s exactly what hundreds of students have done for the last 16 years during CSUnity, SLiCE’s annual service smorgasbord. This will be my first opportunity to get involved with CSUnity, and I’m pretty excited. I’ve had fun in the past serving food, Hanging out with some elderly folks, building compost bins and helping with other short-term commitments, but I haven’t ever had the chance to work with hundreds of students at the same time. It’s pretty inspiring to know that I’ll be part of the service deluge hitting Fort Collins on April 16^th. On average, over two thousand students sign up as individuals or as a group, taking to the streets, making Fort Collins and the surrounding areas better places to live.

This year we’ll be helping a lot of different agencies and community organizations, and to give you an idea of what to expect, I’ve looked into a few of the organizations we’ll be working with this time around.

One of the groups I’m personally excited about helping is CARE Housing. As their site states, CARE is a non-profit that “provides affordable rental housing and supporting services to working families.” This is a great organization addressing a real issue in our community, giving our younger citizens the opportunity to learn and grow in safe, supportive environments. To this end, we’ll be helping prepare their community gardens for this spring’s planting season as part of CARE Communities’ new healthy living initiative.
Another agency that sounds pretty awesome is the Wolves Offered Life and Friendship (WOLF) Sanctuary. WOLF aims to improve the quality of life for all wolves and wolf-dogs through rescue, providing sanctuary, and education for the public about wolves and their value in the wild. CSUnity will be helping them perform fire mitigation, forest thinning and other enclosure maintenance.

CSUnity participants will also work with the Environmental Learning Center here at CSU. The ELC provides programs for students of all ages and community members of all abilities. They offer family programs, service learning opportunities, and so much more. The week of CSUnity coincides with the ELC’s annual “Carpe Diem” volunteer day; Groups of students, community members, and individual volunteers will help complete service and experiential learning projects such as trail construction/maintenance, invasive species management, planting native species, protected area restoration, preparing their organic garden for Summer, and various other programs and projects.

This is a very small sample of all the different opportunities SLiCE is offering for this year’s CSUnity serivce plunge. If you want to get involved visit the CSUnity page to sign up as an individual or as part of a group. And if you happen to be part of an agency that could use a few college students for a day, visit the agency and group project registration site.