Happy Holidays

Children in Des Moines, Iowa got a treat from Drake University students and they don't even know it. Drake puts on a holiday themed party for local area children and their families who might not be able to afford Chistmas presents this year. The Christmas Wish Tree is a way for children in need around the area to write their Christmas wish lists on ornaments that hang on a tree at the university. From there, students and faculty are able to take an ornament and get the presents that the child they picked has asked for. This seems to a great way for children to be able to celebrate the holiday season but not make them feel sad or depressed because they may not be getting as many gifts as some of the other children in their classes. But Drake is not the only univeristy trying to spread the holiday cheer. Colgate University has adopted a letter writing program to spread holiday cheer to local veterans. The blog notes that for the rest of the week, students will be able to donate items or leave cards for veterans at the Syracuse VA Medical Center. Everyone needs a little holiday cheer to brighten up their day and it is nice to know that universities and colleges around the country are giving this holiday season. For those in the Jacksonville area, the local newspaper, The Florida Times-Union has up on their web site a list of ways you can give back to your community. So give back this holiday season, even if your university doesn't have a program going on. It's time that we took the initiative and helped those around us that are in need. Happy holidays, and here's hoping it's a wonderful new year as well!!!!

Detroit Update...New Take

Rev. Gerard L. Stockhausen wrote an article on December 4, 2007 on an article I previously examined in relation to the University of Michigan reaching out to the Detroit community with its classes. A quote that I found very telling in the article states that "Community involvement at the university level provides students not only hands-on learning that complements their classroom and laboratory experiences, but also increased connections to their community and a stronger awareness of social issues." This is an ideal that needs to be recreated throughout the United States. If students are better able to understand their part in society and how what they are learning impacts society.

Stockhausen is the president of University of Detroit Mercy, Michigan's largest Catholic university. In the article he notes that UDM has actively involved in outreach methods in the Detroit area for decades. He discussed co-op experiences and large efforts that their different schools of teaching are having on the community. An area that he discussed that is in progress at Towson University and several others around the country are its classes where service learning is built-in to the class. I believe that the main purpose of this article was to note that the University of Michigan is not the only university devoting time to helping Detroit. There are universities that are always servicing the communities they're in and are getting none of the recognition.