While April 2, the original date for the Ludacris concert, came and went, another opportunity for Northeastern students to come together in a positive atmosphere could have went as well.
However, approximately 70 community members and volunteers joined together to participate in a service day, which included a breakfast and group cleanup of the streets surrounding Northeastern.
While this event, and those who participated in it, should be commended, the boat may have been missed for something even bigger.
On that same Saturday, approximately 800 students gathered at Boston University’s Sargent Gymnasium for the second annual BU Dance Marathon. Sounds lame to some, but this event, which lasted from 8 p.m. Saturday night until 9 a.m. Sunday morning, raised an estimated $50,000 for charity. Last year’s event raised $32,000.
Mike Metz, a student at BU and a participant in the event told the BU Daily Free Press, “Obviously [the marathon] is getting bigger — and [a] part of a school tradition — which our school definitely needs.”
Wouldn’t it have been wonderful for Northeastern to organize and participate in an event of this magnitude as a replacement for the Springfest concert? Twenty-six percent of voters in an online opinion poll said they would have taken part in a community service event in place of Springfest.
It’s not as if Northeastern student leaders would be opposed to organizing something like this, or that students would be unwilling to join in. Instead, it’s the general feeling that “no one would do it” that stops events of this size — and reward — from taking place.
Let’s stop the laziness, because we’ve heard it all before. Northeastern students have no sense of community, and every time something remotely positive happens on campus, it almost immediately turns into a negative.
This academic year is almost over, thankfully. It’s been a dark one in Northeastern’s history. Hopefully student groups and administrators can use this Dance Marathon of as an example of what motivated students can do when they put their effort and energy into doing good for the community.
We know Boston University is a bigger school, and most of the sponsors of this event probably have bigger checkbooks. But in no way are Boston University students more capable or more motivated to do good.
Student Government Association President Michael Romano is planning another service day soon, to include clean-up of the Mission Hill area. We know that many Northeastern students are interested in getting involved in the community.
Though we may not be able to cut a check close to $50,000, making bonds and cleaning up the community is beyond monetary value and necessary for bringing some pride and community to this divided campus.
