Raise your voice with new organization
Issue date: 6/29/05 Section: News
A new campus organization hopes to help members of the community raise their voices this fall.
Leah Orwig, a first-year graduate student in the Social Work Department, hopes to bring a chapter of the Raise Your Voice Campaign to SIUE.
"Raise Your Voice is a volunteer-based organization to get students and community members involved in finding struggles and concerns within their campus and community, and then working with local leaders to find ways to fix them," Orwig said.
"We want to get students over being apathetic and make them care about an issue so that they can get involved toward the betterment of that issue," she added.
Orwig said the group has contacted more than 80 students on campus to see what their needs and concerns are.
"The students we've talked to are concerned about a basic lack of communication between departments and their students," Orwig said. "Some of them were thanking us for allowing them to voice their concerns."
Orwig said the SIUE Raise Your Voice students have been working closely with the United Congregation of the Metro East, to connect with issues concerning the greater metropolitan area. They recently participated with the organization in a needs assessment survey given to area residents.
"Our group strongly wants to use the tool of education to be a key in the process of being involved in the community," Orwig said. "Members can use it to carry with them in their careers and lives beyond college, into grad school, or whatever they decide to go into."
She added that students from SIUE have attended Raise Your Voice conferences throughout the Midwest at a national and regional meeting level.
"We are currently working over the summer to get a feel for the campus, to boost group involvement and hopefully enrollment in the fall," Orwig said.
The group currently has five students, but Orwig said she hopes becoming involved with the Kimmel Leadership Center will increase membership.
Assistant Director of Student Organization and Development for the Kimmel Leadership Center Cheryl Heard said the organization would "be a good thing to give students, as well as the rest of the university community, the opportunity to just share their views of issues that concern us.
"Being officially recognized gives them the opportunity to schedule space on campus, set up information tables and distribute promotional flyers and posters around campus to make others aware of the group and its focus," Heard added.
The group has petitioned the Student Senate to be reviewed at its Friday, July 8 meeting for recognition as an official student organization with the Kimmel Leadership Center. There are currently over 170 recognized groups on campus.
The Raise Your Voice Campaign currently has over 300,000 students on 450 campuses.
For more information, contact Orwig at lorwig@siue.edu.
Leah Orwig, a first-year graduate student in the Social Work Department, hopes to bring a chapter of the Raise Your Voice Campaign to SIUE.
"Raise Your Voice is a volunteer-based organization to get students and community members involved in finding struggles and concerns within their campus and community, and then working with local leaders to find ways to fix them," Orwig said.
"We want to get students over being apathetic and make them care about an issue so that they can get involved toward the betterment of that issue," she added.
Orwig said the group has contacted more than 80 students on campus to see what their needs and concerns are.
"The students we've talked to are concerned about a basic lack of communication between departments and their students," Orwig said. "Some of them were thanking us for allowing them to voice their concerns."
Orwig said the SIUE Raise Your Voice students have been working closely with the United Congregation of the Metro East, to connect with issues concerning the greater metropolitan area. They recently participated with the organization in a needs assessment survey given to area residents.
"Our group strongly wants to use the tool of education to be a key in the process of being involved in the community," Orwig said. "Members can use it to carry with them in their careers and lives beyond college, into grad school, or whatever they decide to go into."
She added that students from SIUE have attended Raise Your Voice conferences throughout the Midwest at a national and regional meeting level.
"We are currently working over the summer to get a feel for the campus, to boost group involvement and hopefully enrollment in the fall," Orwig said.
The group currently has five students, but Orwig said she hopes becoming involved with the Kimmel Leadership Center will increase membership.
Assistant Director of Student Organization and Development for the Kimmel Leadership Center Cheryl Heard said the organization would "be a good thing to give students, as well as the rest of the university community, the opportunity to just share their views of issues that concern us.
"Being officially recognized gives them the opportunity to schedule space on campus, set up information tables and distribute promotional flyers and posters around campus to make others aware of the group and its focus," Heard added.
The group has petitioned the Student Senate to be reviewed at its Friday, July 8 meeting for recognition as an official student organization with the Kimmel Leadership Center. There are currently over 170 recognized groups on campus.
The Raise Your Voice Campaign currently has over 300,000 students on 450 campuses.
For more information, contact Orwig at lorwig@siue.edu.
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