SHAC spreads awareness on issue
Student Homeless Awareness Chapter participates in movement against poverty
Scott Hansen
Issue date: 10/20/08 Section: News
Some may not be surprised when a stranger asks them to take their photograph. But it may be a surprise when a person asks a stranger to actually be in their photograph.
At 12:30 p.m. on Friday, members of the Student Homeless Awareness Chapter (SHAC) shouted at the top of their lungs on the Campus Mall to gather people to stand with them and have their picture taken. The number of people who attended, around 30, will then be submitted to the Stand Up and Take Action Web site as part of a movement to show that people are taking a stand against poverty and the millennium development goals.
SHAC president and senior Megan Callahan said the global organization Stand Up and Take Action created the movement in 2005 calling for the millennium development goals to be met. Nothing has been done to meet those goals, developed in 2000 by 191 nations from the United Nations. The initial plan was to meet the millennium development goals by 2015.
"The (Stand Up and Take Action) organization said 'let's have events all over the world and anyone can make an event,'" said Callahan, adding that there are over 2,000 events registered with Stand Up and Take Action that happened from Friday through Sunday. "(The events) will let the governments know that we actually care about those goals."
Last year, junior Wendy Wiemerskirch came to SHAC and told them about an event she was planning by herself. Wiemerskirch had conducted her own Stand Up and Take Action related events in the past, mainly taking place behind Sutherland Hall and having a crowd of around 15 people. Wiemerskirch, deciding to study abroad this semester, wanted SHAC to know about the Stand Up and Take Action's movement against poverty and the millennium developmental goals so they could get involved with it, Callahan said.
Sophomores Crystal Kazik, Liz Matthys and Kara Wisniewski saw the event as an important thing to participate in and decided to collectively attend. Wisniewski, a social work major, wanted to help take a stand against something she felt close to.
At 12:30 p.m. on Friday, members of the Student Homeless Awareness Chapter (SHAC) shouted at the top of their lungs on the Campus Mall to gather people to stand with them and have their picture taken. The number of people who attended, around 30, will then be submitted to the Stand Up and Take Action Web site as part of a movement to show that people are taking a stand against poverty and the millennium development goals.
SHAC president and senior Megan Callahan said the global organization Stand Up and Take Action created the movement in 2005 calling for the millennium development goals to be met. Nothing has been done to meet those goals, developed in 2000 by 191 nations from the United Nations. The initial plan was to meet the millennium development goals by 2015.
"The (Stand Up and Take Action) organization said 'let's have events all over the world and anyone can make an event,'" said Callahan, adding that there are over 2,000 events registered with Stand Up and Take Action that happened from Friday through Sunday. "(The events) will let the governments know that we actually care about those goals."
Last year, junior Wendy Wiemerskirch came to SHAC and told them about an event she was planning by herself. Wiemerskirch had conducted her own Stand Up and Take Action related events in the past, mainly taking place behind Sutherland Hall and having a crowd of around 15 people. Wiemerskirch, deciding to study abroad this semester, wanted SHAC to know about the Stand Up and Take Action's movement against poverty and the millennium developmental goals so they could get involved with it, Callahan said.
Sophomores Crystal Kazik, Liz Matthys and Kara Wisniewski saw the event as an important thing to participate in and decided to collectively attend. Wisniewski, a social work major, wanted to help take a stand against something she felt close to.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Ozy M.
posted 10/20/08 @ 11:35 AM CST
I thought this was a very good article about an important cause. I think it's a crime that not more has been done to help in preventing and treating poverty, and hopefully campaigns such as this can help bring more attention to one of the more important issues facing our society today. (Continued…)
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