Community Service

  Students at Boston College’s Connell School of Nursing traveled to Managua, Nicaragua this spring break. Senior nursing student Courtney Pladsen, an organizer of the trip, first traveled to Nicaragua on a sociology-led spring break trip in 2005; on that trip she recognized a need for health care and initiated a meeting with her nursing school faculty to organize the venture. Out of the 50-60 students who applied, nine were selected for this year’s inaugural trip. Pladsen said the experience helped her to learn a more holistic view of nursing. 3/15/07 

  Boston University’s Rotaract Club, a community service club dedicated to national and international service projects, raised $5,000 over two years for a Salvadoran boy in need of an open-heart operation. The money was used to pay for Melvin Trujillo’s flight and his surgery, which Salvadoran doctors were unable to perform. Melvin and his mother are living in an apartment donated by BU until he is healthy enough to fly home. Approximately 5.5 million children who suffer from Melvin’s condition are awaiting surgery in under-developed nations worldwide. 2/13/07 

Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity recently held its third biannual "Bringing Home to the Troops" donation drive to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war. The brothers collected candy, CDs, DVDs, food, letters of encouragement, batteries, phone cards and more to send in care packages to troops serving in Iraq.

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  Students at Kansas State University held an open panel discussion last week to explore racial stereotypes.  Five black women students sat on a panel and answered questions from the audience regarding stereotypes and politics, as well as other topics. A parallel event, “Ask a Black Man,” was held the next day. 2/28/07  Read More from Kansas State

  Louisiana State University recently held their first Women's History Month community service project. A group of female students painted, cleaned and landscaped a local shelter for homeless women and children called the Sweet Dreams Shelter. Read more from Louisiana State University

  A student activist at Notre Dame University was threatened with immediate suspension for his participation in a SoulForce Equality Ride demonstration, which led to a skirmish with Notre Dame Security/Police last month. The SoulForce Equality Ride brings gay-spectrum young people to campuses that ban the enrollment of openly gay and lesbian students to speak about God’s universal love and acceptance. The student received only a written admonition, and is still unsure of the policy he allegedly violated. Students at Kenyon College and Middlebury College are dealing with homophobic vand

  Virginia Tech’s Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority have teamed up with the National Bone Marrow Program and are holding a bone marrow registry drive on campus in an effort to recruit minority donors. Due to a shortage of minority donors, students say it is often hard for minorities to secure bone marrow transplants. Alpha Phi Alpha and Theta Nu Xi hope to make the drive an annual event. Read more from Virginia Tech

  Students at the University of Notre Dame organized “Eating Disorders and the Campus Culture,” a forum that explored the relationship between campus life and eating disorders through film, panels, and speakers. 2/12/07  Read More from Notre Dame