3

NEWS

NU students help with community hunger problems

By Paul Pimental
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

In an effort to help hungry people in America, Norwich’s volunteer program has begun a new project called Hunger In America, and it is different from normal volunteer projects.

Hunger In America is a service-learning project. Service-learning is the incorporation of community service into an academic curriculum. This usually takes place in a classroom, and students get a grade for the community service that they do, but Hunger In America is different.

“This project is outside the setting of a classroom, even though it looks much like a course,” said Michelle Barber, the service-learning coordinator in the NU volunteer office.

The Hunger In America project will familiarize students with many aspects of hunger in America, including the political and economic systems that affect hunger in America on a local, statewide, and national level.

The project will also give students a chance to gain firsthand knowledge of the issue of hunger in the United States.

Students involved in the project will commit to at least three hours each week to the project. One hour will be spent doing research in an academic setting. The other two hours will be spent in the community working with different organizations on hunger issues.

“They will mostly be working with CERV, the Community Emergency Relief Volunteers,” Barber said, explaining that CERV is “a food shelter in Northfield.”

According to the volunteer office’s communications officer, Luis Anthony Morales Jr., 20, a sophomore communications major from Northfield, Vt., the Hunger In America program is still in its beginning stages.

“I haven’t really started working on that, yet,” Morales said, adding that as the semester continues he will be more involved. He hopes it does better than some of NU’s past volunteer projects.

Morales, who is in charge of getting volunteer information out to students, has high hopes for the new project.

“It’s our job to go throughout the school to find people to help,” Morales said.

Students who are involved in the program may be able to go the National Student Conference on Hunger and Homelessness, where hundreds of people gather in Maryland for three days to discuss the two issues.

“It’s not a 100 percent secure yet,” Barber said, explaining that planning for the conference is ongoing.

If the volunteer office gets the funding they need and the students involved meet at least 80 percent of all the activities, they will be able to go the conference at a discounted rate.

“I went to it last year,” Barber said “It was absolutely amazing.”

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr, Northfield, VT 05663. www.norwich.edu/guidon.