Today,FALL/WINTER 2004 1 - University of the Ozarks

CampusNewsCampus community lends helping handWhen the Clarksville HousingAuthority (CHA) lost one of its mainsuppliers of donated foods for its tenantslast summer, the university communitystepped in to fill the void.CHA, which serves almost 100households in the area, was notified lastspring that its main supplier ofnonperishable food items, ARVAC,would no longer be able to supplycertain items, including soups, cannedmeat, fruit and cereal.Ozarks’ Critical Inquiry (CI)program — which includes a requiredfirst-semester class for new students tohelp them get acclimated to college life— came to the rescue of the CHA foodpantry by sponsoring a semester-longfood drive that yielded numerous bagsof food and other items.The genesis of the efforts in helpingCHA came about from Dr. SharonGorman’s CI class. Gorman, professorof music and university organist, alsoserves as the campus coordinator for theCI program.Gorman’s CI course syllabus statesthat the class mission is to “look closelyat how we, as individuals and as agroup, can make a difference in theworld.”“When we heard that there was aDr. Sharon Gorman (right) and herCritical Inquiry class display some of thebags of food they helped gather for theClarksville Housing Authority.10 Today, FALL/WINTER 2004U of O students perform karaoke to entertain the tenants during the CHA Fall HarvestSocial. (Photos courtesy of CHA).need, the students in my class agreed tosponsor a food drive on campus,” saidGorman. “A big part of the CI class islearning the importance of becominginvolved in community serviceactivities, and this is exactly the type ofeffort that can help make a difference.We felt like it was a good way to get theentire campus involved in the effort.”Lucia Gomez, a sophomore fromNicaragua, was one of the students whohelped coordinate the food drive.“We heard that oftentimes theelderly have to choose betweenmedicine and food and that reallytouched us,” Gomez said. “We put upposters and signs around campus andsent out e-mails to get food. Everyoneon campus really supported and helpedout in the project. It’s been a memorableexperience.”The campus community donatedfood items such as pasta, cereal, rice,canned soups and fruits and peanutbutter, as well as other items likeshampoo, toothpaste and lotion. Inaddition, CI classes volunteered theirtime to CHA in other areas, includingdecorating and preparing food trays fortenant functions, sweeping and cleaningporch areas at elderly/handicappedunits, weeding flower beds, rakingleaves and trimming hedges. Ozarksstudents even provided entertainment atsome of the CHA functions.“The Clarksville Housing Authorityhas been very fortunate to havereceived help from Ozarks students thisfall,” said CHA Executive DirectorMetta Holman. “We were named theArkansas National Association ofHousing and Redevelopment Officials’2004 Agency of the Year in September.This award was obtained largely due toour community outreach activities andfood bank.“We appreciate the continuedsupport of our program and its goals byUniversity of the Ozarks’ faculty, staffand students.”