Sacrifice something
Spring is the season for volunteering and it took a lot for students, faculty, and community members to sacrifice their time and effort in support of The Big Event.
This time of year is especially difficult; we’re stressed to the last threads of our tolerance, and the reprieve of summer is too tempting. We want to thank all those who made a strong show and put their best foot forward for Chadron State and the community.
While a great effort was put forth by the approximately 600 Chadron State students who did volunteer for The Big Event, there were even more students that did not make themselves present.
It is understandable if students had work or family to tend to, or other prior engagements, but there were some students who failed to make an appearance with a sole excuse of laziness.
Saturday was also a time of tragedy in the East. A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, a tiny country between India and China. As of Wednesday, the BBC reports that 8 million people are displaced, 10,000 injured, and as many as 5,000 dead in one of the worst earthquakes the region has seen in 80 years.
It may seem like a great sacrifice to spend a nice Saturday helping others, but it may be time to re-evaluate. Nepal’s primary source of income is tourism, and the people there will be struggling to recover the loss of their cultural landmarks and heritage. While some students were sitting in their rooms or running around to social events, the people of Nepal are still going through a tremendous hardship.
So no matter what you have going on in your life right now, your concerns are miniscule compared to what others are facing. It shouldn’t just be large coordinated events that encourage you to give something of yourself; to forgo selfishness and contribute something that alleviates the suffering and hardships of others.
Please consider donating to one of the following organizations and help the people of Nepal:
UNICEF — http://tiny.cc/cl8kxx
WORLD FOOD PROGRAM — http://wfpusa.org/Nepal
RED CROSS — http://www.redcross.org