Under the Arch     November 7, 2005     Volume VII, Number 10

 

GANNON TO OBSERVE HUNGER-HOMELESSNESS WEEK NOV. 12-18

        Gannon University students, faculty, and staff will observe Hunger and Homelessness Week through a series of campus events, including a makeshift box city and a food drive.

            The events, sponsored by the university’s Social Concerns Club, are designed to raise awareness of hunger and homelessness, two important social justice issues. Gannon’s efforts are part of a national initiative to combat these maladies. * see end of release for more information.

The schedule of events for Gannon’s Hunger and Homelessness Week is as follows:

 

Saturday, Nov. 12 – Golden Harvest Food Drive: coordinated by the university’s office of Student Living, the 29th annual drive will target neighborhoods in the City of Erie and Millcreek Township from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Participants will go door-to-door with the goal of collecting 10,000 pounds of non-perishable food items and canned goods. Those wishing to contribute to the drive also can take items to one of the designated drop zones: Blessed Sacrament parish, 1626 West 26th Street; St. James parish, 2635 Buffalo Road; and Villa Maria Academy, 2403 West Eighth Street. All items collected will be donated to Erie’s Second Harvest Food Bank, 1702 Ash Street.

Sunday, Nov. 13 – Prayer Vigil: scheduled for 7-7:30 p.m. in Gannon’s Friendship Green, located outside the Waldron Campus Center, 124 West 7th Street. In the event of inclement weather, the service will be moved indoors to Gannon’s Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel, 512 Peach Street. This candlelight vigil will mark the official beginning of Hunger and Homelessness Week and to acknowledge the plight of those who are hungry and/or homeless.

Monday, Nov. 14 – Bake sale: scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Palumbo Academic Center, 824 Peach Street. All proceeds raised will benefit local charitable organizations.

Tuesday, Nov. 15 – Global Banquet: scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Yehl Room in the Waldron Campus Center, 124 West 7th Street. The goal of the banquet is to raise awareness of worldwide hunger. The students, faculty, and staff who attend randomly will be assigned a country designation, and their meal, including quantity of food, will be based upon standards of living in that country. All monetary donations collected will be given to OxFam and canned goods will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Wednesday, Nov. 16 – Midnight Runs: Members of the Social Concerns Club will accept donations of pizza from local pizzerias and then deliver them to area homeless shelters. Students will sign up to give up one of their meals. They will skip the meal on Friday.

Thursday, Nov. 17 – Box City: scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in A.J.’s Way, which runs between West 7th-8th streets just west of Peach. Students, faculty, and staff will live in makeshift box homes for at least one hour and will collect donations from passersby. All monies collected will be donated to area organizations, including Kid’s Café, Second Harvest Food Bank, the Martin Luther King Center, Erie DAWN, and St. Patrick’s Haven. The Box City is designed to raise awareness of homelessness.

Friday, Nov. 18 – OxFam Fast: For every meal that students donate to OxFam, Metz Dining Services, the university’s foodservice provider, will give a percentage of the meal cost to OxFam.

 

* More about Hunger and Homelessness Week

One week prior to Thanksgiving, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness annually co-sponsor National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. According to the web site for the National Coalition for the Homeless (www.nationalhomeless.org), schools, communities, and cities nationally take part in a comprehensive effort to bring greater awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness.

Participating in National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week brings greater awareness to communities, but also helps promote the national endeavor to end hunger and homelessness. According to the coalition, the plight of those without a home can be both lonely and difficult. Addressing their struggles by organizing and participating in this week may bring greater solidarity and understanding, as well as promote future involvement. Events such as “One Night Without a Home,” help people realize the difficulties that homeless persons daily face. It is imperative to dispel myths that label homelessness as someone else’s problem or claim that an end to homelessness is impossible.

 

 

OUR EVENTS

  • Thursday, November 10 – Community Mass Memorial: for Marie Brulé Garibaldi, late mother of Dr. Garibaldi. Offered at 4 p.m. in the Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel.

  • Saturday, November 19 – Financial Aid Workshop: Provides an overview of the entire financial aid process. Offered at 10 a.m. in room 1200 of the Palumbo Center.

  • “Our Events” is intended to serve as a random sample of campus events. For a more complete listing, refer to Eventcal.

 

THE PRESIDENT'S SCHEDULE

Monday-Tuesday, November 7-8 – Middle States Commission on Higher Education preliminary site visit. Tuesday, November 8 – Investment Subcommittee Meeting. Thursday, November 10 – Gannon University Board of Trustees’ retreat; Community Mass; Golden Knight Club maroon-gold basketball scrimmages. Friday, November 11 – Gannon University Board of Trustees’ meetings; Model United Nations welcome address.

 

 

CURRENT BIRTHDAYS

Richard Oros. Harry Rudge. Tina DeFoy. John Carrig. Brigid Wilcox. Barbara Niebauer. Suzanne Sturdivant. Christine Cedzo. Robert Tarkowski. Pamela Verity. Bernadette Agresti. Theresa Horanic. Merribeth Kujkowski. Galen Adams. Fred Showalter. Soban Jalil. Grady Smith. Christian Kramer. Susan DePaul. Ami Pflugrad-Jackisch. Laura Brown. Michael Ferralli. Holly Jodon. Mary Beth Earll. Susan Chessario. Jill Chelko. Ross Jones. David Groh. Chuanhou Yang. John Lyons. Laurie Curlett. Mary Karg. Daniel Tingley. Alan Swigonski. Carmen Toscano. Michael Walmsley. Dave Arnold.

 

 

HEARD ON CAMPUS

  • Campus Crawl: Tune in to Fox 66 on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. or Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. to Experience Gannon from the comfort of your home. As part of a series entitled “Campus Crawl,” Fox 66 WFXP has created a dynamic 30-minute television show about Gannon University. The segment will showcase many aspects of college life and will inform prospective students about what distinguishes Gannon from other schools.

  • Gannon University’s Schuster Gallery cordially invites you to its current exhibit of paintings, “Father and Son,” featuring the work of Vitus J. and Michael J. Kaiser. The gallery is located on the third floor of Nash Library and is open during regular library hours.

  • The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is sponsoring more events. “Ensuring Transfer Student Success” – Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 1-2:30 p.m., Palumbo 1200 Heidi Kippenhan, University of North Dakota, will discuss the different types of transfer students, the student needs and expectations, and suggestions to help with their success. The presentation will include ideas for recruitment and retention. After the presentation, the Gannon community will have an opportunity to share their ideas and thoughts with others. “Teaching and Assessing Thinking Skills” – Wednesday, Nov. 9 from 1-3:30, Palumbo 1050 Linda Suskie, Executive Associate Director of the Middle States Commission, will discuss assessment topics, such as assessment in the teaching and learning process, examples of critical thinking skills, tools that can assess information literacy and thinking skills. Please join us for these events. Call Julie Rentschler at ext. 7202 for more information.