I received a sad shock the other day. I realized that childrenin my neighborhood were hungry because their mother could notafford any food for dinner. Now, I do not live downtown or on thesouth side of Muncie, I live in a neighborhood that is mostly hometo other college students.
I couldn't believe at first that there could be children who arehungry in Muncie. That is something that I have been fortunateenough never to have had experienced. Most of us here at Ball Statehave not had to go hungry some nights. The more that it sank in,the more that I knew that it was unacceptable for children not tohave food to eat, not to have school supplies or be unable tocelebrate their birthdays. It is unacceptable for our governmentand it is unacceptable for our communities to allow this tohappen.
I have been involved with Student Government Association andmany other organizations for years now, and I have seen countlessfood and clothing drives come and go. I have also seen barrelssitting in residence halls, mostly empty, for months at a time. Isincerely thank the people who organized these for recognizing theproblem we have in our communities and trying to do something aboutit. In the past, Ball State students have been somewhat notoriousfor being apathetic, but at last week's football game, we provedthat we can show up in numbers if the occasion is right. Now, if wecould only channel that energy and excitement to something thatreally has an impact on our community.
I admit that I am every bit as guilty of ignoring this problemas anyone else. If you would have asked me a month ago, I wouldhave said "that's a terrible problem!" but still wouldn't take anyreal action to do my little part for this major problem. When Ithink about my hungry neighbors, it reminds me of many things. Itreminds me of boxes of food that have sat untouched in our cabinetsfor almost a year. It reminds me of the half gallon of milk I threwout last week because it was past its expiration date. It remindsme of the $15 I spent on beer last weekend. It reminds me of thestory my Dad told me when I was little about his friend Timmy whodidn't get any presents for Christmas. I think of all the food andmoney I wasted last week alone while children in my neighborhoodwere hungry.
There are obviously many problems with the welfare system inAmerica. Some people who don't need welfare hoard it, and otherswho need it desperately, can't get it. The system needs manyreforms (I'm not trying to act like I have any clue what thoseare), but until our government figures out what reforms are needed,and as long as there are hungry children in our communities, thereis only one thing college students can do to help these children:donate. Students who organize food and clothing drives aren'tasking for much, just the things that you don't need or use anymorelike old clothes and that can of green beans that has sat untouchedfor two months. Even donations from 10 cents to $10 can help buyfood for hungry children.
Learning about my neighbors hit me close to home, literally. Andsince then, it would make me very uneasy not to do something aboutit. So I am going to see what I can do, and I hope that others willalso.
Write to Katie at
khcarlson@bsu.edu
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