Michelle Lord, Ausha Arnold, Colleen Baillie

CLA 1001

Community Service and Why You Should Do it at UMD

Coming to UMD was a culture shock experience, like it probably is for most incoming freshman. With all the new surrounding and faces, it can seem like finding a footing on school work and making friends is all that’s needed the first month on campus. But as freshman that have, been- there-done-that, one tip we would like to give the freshman of ’09 is GET INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY!

Although the most of you are attending your first year at the University of Minnesota Duluth and live on campus in UMD Housing, the large majority of students live off campus in houses and apartments. These students live among the public community of Duluth, leading to direct contact and shared spaces. Despite the fact that not all students living off campus cause problems, the number of students that do have tainted the reputation of the entire student population. Loud, rowdy parties and little consideration of others has made many neighbors of students angry, frustrated and unhappy with the situation. This leads to a bad reputation of the student body throughout the city. Fortunately, we can counteract this by putting ourselves out there and making a positive impact. Community service throughout Duluth will make students noticed in a favorable way and help to turn around our bad reputation. Since most of you are probably living in University Housing now, it may be easy to ignore the negativity and opposition towards University off campus residents. Someday however, you, too, will be living within the public community. Make that experience more positive and welcoming for you - starting now - through community service. (Here are some other tips for being a good neighbor: http://www.offcampuswwu.com/neighbor.html)

Yes we know you do not technically live in Duluth, you live somewhere back in the Twin Cities or in a small town in central Minnesota. But look at it this way: you are in Duluth nine months out of the year, with three months (and visits home) filling in elsewhere. Duluth will become more a home and more of a comfortable place to be when you get out there and experience the city beyond Canal Park. One great way to really see the true nature of the city is to go help out. With organizations on and off campus, you can find a way to give back and also really get a sense of home away from home. Some organizations on campus that work with the community are sororities, religious groups, and clubs. There is also an office on campus called Office of Civic Engagement (Civic Engagement Home Page) where you can learn about all the partnering groups off campus. They have everything from working with underprivileged children to animals.

For example, if you have an interest in animals, the Animal Allies humane society has recently opened their new building right near campus off of Rice Lake Road and they are always looking for volunteers to walk dogs, socialize with cats, clean crates, and answer phones. For more information about this fun and unique volunteering opportunity close to UMD, you can visit their website at http://www.animalallies.net/