Action, not apathy, please.
Last weekend, my sister and I volunteered at the AU/GW Relay for Life. For the unfamiliar, Relay for Life is a fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for research and programs of the American Cancer Society. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times.
We were there to get students to send messages to their legislators asking them to support increased National Cancer Institute funding and to improve access to early breast and cervical cancer screenings (particularly for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women). We stood at our designated table until the Relay was officially underway, and then we decided to take our clipboards into the thick of the action. We approached a number of teams, and the response was mind-boggling.
Apathy. We were met with pure, unadulterated, unapologetic apathy.
Sure, some of the students were fantastic (for example, the Sigma Delta Tau team—as soon as I mentioned that sis and I were alumnae, they absolutely rose to the occasion). By and large, however, our pleas for support were rebuffed in favor of ignorance and sarcasm.
We weren’t asking for money—we weren’t even asking students to draft lengthy correspondence. All we needed was a name and address on a pre-printed letter, and maybe a short statement on why the issues were personally important. The whole form took about 5 minutes to fill out, and we assured the students that their information wouldn’t be used for solicitations or junk mail or commercial purposes. So why the hesitance? Why the fear of action?
Perhaps it is because I am a cancer survivor, but this sort of advocacy comes quite naturally for me. Sign a petition? Sure thing. Donate to the cause? Of course. Submit an op-ed to the local paper? In a heartbeat. I’ve gone so far as to lobby the Tennessee state legislature for smoke-free residence halls—and I won. Not everyone has what it takes to be a professional political activist, but grassroots advocacy isn’t about that—it’s about regular people standing up for a worthwhile cause. And it’s so easy to make a difference.
There’s a lot that we could have done better to get the students excited about our drive. However, there’s a lot that the students could have done—CAN do—to show the rest of the population that they’re not as selfish and uninterested as some people and polls might suggest.
Sis and I will be at the Georgetown University Relay for Life on Saturday night, and we’ll be asking once again for students to support the American Cancer Society’s legislative initiatives. We’ll be excited about the event and about the very important cause, and we hope that our requests won’t be met with too many “No thanks” or “I’m good” or “I already support that” responses.
The Georgetown students have already raised over $198,000, which is an incredible feat—let’s hope they show that same enthusiasm and commitment in regards to rallying for change.
Go Hoyas--show those AU/GW kids who's boss! :-)
We were there to get students to send messages to their legislators asking them to support increased National Cancer Institute funding and to improve access to early breast and cervical cancer screenings (particularly for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women). We stood at our designated table until the Relay was officially underway, and then we decided to take our clipboards into the thick of the action. We approached a number of teams, and the response was mind-boggling.
Apathy. We were met with pure, unadulterated, unapologetic apathy.
Sure, some of the students were fantastic (for example, the Sigma Delta Tau team—as soon as I mentioned that sis and I were alumnae, they absolutely rose to the occasion). By and large, however, our pleas for support were rebuffed in favor of ignorance and sarcasm.
We weren’t asking for money—we weren’t even asking students to draft lengthy correspondence. All we needed was a name and address on a pre-printed letter, and maybe a short statement on why the issues were personally important. The whole form took about 5 minutes to fill out, and we assured the students that their information wouldn’t be used for solicitations or junk mail or commercial purposes. So why the hesitance? Why the fear of action?
Perhaps it is because I am a cancer survivor, but this sort of advocacy comes quite naturally for me. Sign a petition? Sure thing. Donate to the cause? Of course. Submit an op-ed to the local paper? In a heartbeat. I’ve gone so far as to lobby the Tennessee state legislature for smoke-free residence halls—and I won. Not everyone has what it takes to be a professional political activist, but grassroots advocacy isn’t about that—it’s about regular people standing up for a worthwhile cause. And it’s so easy to make a difference.
There’s a lot that we could have done better to get the students excited about our drive. However, there’s a lot that the students could have done—CAN do—to show the rest of the population that they’re not as selfish and uninterested as some people and polls might suggest.
Sis and I will be at the Georgetown University Relay for Life on Saturday night, and we’ll be asking once again for students to support the American Cancer Society’s legislative initiatives. We’ll be excited about the event and about the very important cause, and we hope that our requests won’t be met with too many “No thanks” or “I’m good” or “I already support that” responses.
The Georgetown students have already raised over $198,000, which is an incredible feat—let’s hope they show that same enthusiasm and commitment in regards to rallying for change.
Go Hoyas--show those AU/GW kids who's boss! :-)
posted by bettyjoan @ 4/17/2007
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home