Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter
Between class work, jobs and studying for the impending finals week, Southern Connecticut State University students are still making time in their weekend to serve their community.
SCSU’s annual spring service event, The Big Event, will be held on Saturday, April 25. The Big Event is a national event which started at Texas A and M University in 1982.
According to The Big Event website, their mission statement is, “Through service-oriented activities, The Big Event promotes campus and community unity as students come together for one day to express their gratitude for the support from the surrounding community.”
The event is sponsored by Service Commission. The Big Event is one of the oldest service events on Southern’s campus, said Service Commission president, Annette Hailer.
“The Big Event is even older than Day of Service, our fall service event,” said Hailer.
Every year, Service Commission strives to make their service events larger and to gain the participation of more and more students.
Hailer said, “Our goal for this year is to be able to work on twenty five sites. We are almost there. We have about twenty sites right now.”
The Big Event stretches to all corners of the New Haven Community. Some of the sites are larger, like Edgewood Park or East Rock, and require the service of more students, while other sites might only request a few students, said Hailer.
Traditionally, The Big Event is served by SCSU’s clubs and organizations, however, individuals can register to serve as well.
“Individuals are welcome to register,” said Hailer. “You don’t need a team. Usually when this happens, if there are enough individuals, we make an individuals team, so they can get to know each other. If not, we add the individual to a team that might need another person.”
The Big Event is a smaller event than the Day of Service, because there are less Inquiry classes who participate in the spring. However, The Big Event traditionally sees a bigger turnout from SCSU’s clubs and organizations.
Hailer said she believes that it is our duty, as such a large part of the community, to give our service back to the city that supports us.
“I spent a semester doing research about it, and it is important to get to know your community, not only because doing community service is fulfilling and makes you a better person, but also as a way of creating networking connections within the community to which you are a member,” said Hailer.
Have you registered for the Big Event yet?? Register on CollegiateLink today to take part in one of Southern’s… http://t.co/UtciGnk56M
— SCSU Student Life (@SCSUStudentLife) March 30, 2015
Likely, SCSU students, especially those in health and education fields, will be working in this community, so it is vital to get to know it.
“We want to show the community that we care about them. SCSU is sort of like a really big business in New Haven. It is our duty to help maintain it. We don’t want to just use New Haven’s resources and then not give back to the community,” said Hailer.
Hailer also believes that students are the best candidates for community service. Most students do not work full time, so they would have an easy time sacrificing a Saturday afternoon, while other members of the community might not have that freedom.
Registration for The Big Event is open now on Southern’s website. Students can register until April 19. Assumption of Risk Forms, which can be printed from the website as well, are also due to Student Life on this day. It is mandatory that students fill out this form prior to the event, or they will be unable to participate in the Big Event.
Photo Credit: The Big Event
