Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Stepping Outside the Box

By: Robert Rodgers

I will be the first to admit that I have lived a sheltered life. I have been privileged to grow up in an upper-middle class suburb where both of my parents have good jobs. I attended a private school and received an excellent education. I am fortunate to say that my life has been pretty good. In Paul Loeb’s Soul of a Citizen, Loeb mentions many inspirational stories where citizens have acted on the behalf of some injustice or problem in their community. For example, Loeb talks about one neighbor acting when another neighbor died because of sub-standard housing. The actions of this inspirational woman led to renovations and improvements in the community, paid for by the state. Citizens act on causes they feel a personal connection or responsibility to. One of the reasons that I feel I have not engaged in a community cause is because I have yet to be inspired by one. Whose fault is that? Well, really it’s my own fault. Living where I do, sub-standard housing, although it exists, is not a problem I see everyday. Rarely do I step outside “my little box” and see the real problems that are present everyday in this country.

Thinking back, I can recall one particular instance when my neighborhood did unite and take a stand against an issue. However, I was only 12 at the time and I was not actively involved. I know age is not an excuse, but at that age I was more concerned with video games and sports than civic engagement. A businessman that owned a large property of land adjacent to the neighborhood had agreed to let a communications company build a cell tower on his property. Many neighbors were outraged, protesting the potential health effects associated with a large cell tower being built in close proximity to the neighborhood. I remember my parents, along with most of the other neighbors, attending a civic board meeting to protest the construction of the cell tower. Because of the strong support that gathered, the plan for the cell tower was rejected. I think this is a great example of how the neighborhood I live in came together for something we felt strongly about. While I am still waiting for my inspiration, I now know that I will be ready.

I feel that it is very important that we, as a community, tackle problems we feel strongly about. I think that one of the most important aspects of helping others is not a quick, temporary fix, but trying to get to the root of the problems. For example, if someone is homeless, we can give them a place to live, but we must now begin to ask why they were homeless. To truly fix a problem, we need to work to solve the why. In the case of poverty, temporary fixes are nice, but the overall problem will never be solved unless we ask why the poverty is there in the first place. Asking the why and then working to solve it is the first step in making the world a better place for everyone to live. I have been largely absent in civic engagement issues and I feel that this has hurt my community. I do feel a sense of responsibility to those that are less fortunate than myself, and I should act on that responsibility. Fortunately, I feel that there is still time left for me to make a difference, and hopefully I will soon come across an opportunity that truly inspires me to act.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Barb Smith and HEARTH

By: Robert Rodgers


If Paul Loeb were to write a subsequent book called Soul of a Citizen Revisited, I am sure he could include the story of a neighbor of mine, Barb Smith. Mrs. Smith is a current board member (and former chair) of the nonprofit group HEARTH, which stands for Homelessness Ends with Advocacy, Resources, Training and Housing. HEARTH aims to help homeless women and children in Ross Township, PA by offering a program that provides temporary housing and services for up to two years. While in the housing program, the women receive assistance in education, job-training, child care, and other self-sufficient needs. Women have the opportunity to meet with counselors, set goals, and work to achieve them while they are living in temporary apartments provided by HEARTH. Since 1995, 143 mothers and 264 children have gone through the program with astonishing results. According to HEARTH, 84% have gone on to live in permanent houses, 75% have gone on to full-time jobs, 100% have increased their education, and 95% have increased their income. Much of HEARTH’s success can be attributed to the work that Barb Smith has done.

Mrs. Smith admits that she has had “a pretty easy life” as she lives in a comfortable home in Marshall, PA with her husband and three children. While Mrs. Smith began volunteering her time to help the homeless in the early 1990s, she joined HEARTH in 1995 because she wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. In 1998, Mrs. Smith became president of HEARTH, a position she held until 2005. As I mentioned, Mrs. Smith’s work and dedication has been an instrumental part to the success of HEARTH’s program. She attended months of training while she learned how to develop a successful model that would improve HEARTH’s program. She also has worked to develop a longer term plan for the program that involves expanding the services offered. The success and improvement of the program under Mrs. Smith’s guidance has made it easier for HEARTH to raise money to continue and expand its program. While volunteering at HEARTH over 20 hours a week, Mrs. Smith also finds time to be at home to raise her three children. She credits her husband, Charlie, for helping ease the workload for her while she is working at HEARTH. She notes, “I feel fortunate to do something that means something to me, helping other people. My husband has supported me in being able to stick with the organization and do something I think is really important.”

Mrs. Smith’s volunteer work has not gone unnoticed as she recently won the 2006 Jefferson Award for Public Service. She has been an inspiration to me as she truly is an example of an individual making a difference in the lives of so many. Mrs. Smith’s example of civic engagement has inspired me to look for more ways that I can help out the community and make the world a better place. You can read her story in full in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Online at the following web address:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07005/751372-51.stm

Monday, September 10, 2007

Dog Fighting vs. Deer Hunting

By: Robert Rodgers


The Michael Vick dog fighting situation has been a polarizing story in the news this summer. Many people are horrified and shocked by Vick’s association to dog fighting, which apparently, is not as uncommon as most people would like to believe. However, many have publicly supported Vick, including some of his fellow NFL players. One such player, Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys, has described dog fighting as a “cultural thing,” saying that it is not much different than deer hunting. While I respect Mr. Owens’ opinion on the situation, I completely disagree with him. While I am not condoning hunting, as I do not hunt nor ever plan to hunt, I believe there are certainly fundamental differences between deer hunting and dog fighting.

First, while I acknowledge that not all hunters eat the deer they kill, many hunters do hunt for the purpose of eating. I happen to know first hand a hunter who hunts so he can put food on the table during the winter season. Wasn’t that the purpose of hunting in the first place? Didn’t the Native Americans who first roamed the Americas hunt for food? Dog fighting is done primarily for sport. Dog fights, as I’ve read, typically involve gambling and are attended for the thrill of it. Second, dog fighting is illegal and considered a felony; however, deer hunting has a season when it is legal to hunt deer. This is done to control the population of deer. The deer population sometimes needs to be checked, or else deer would freeze and starve during the winter. Also, deer may cause accidents in the winter when they cross major roads in search of scarce food. Dog fighting has no such benefit as there is not a need to control the dog population. Third, in our culture, dogs are domestic animals and deer are wild animals. While this may not mean much to some, dogs are considered pets while deer are considered wild animals. True, both are creatures in the world, but who would kill their pets? Lastly, when hunting, the goal is to kill the deer as quickly and painlessly as possible. While this goal is not always achieved, it is certainly better than the pain and suffering dogs experience as they are attempting to tear each other apart in dog fights. Dog fights can last hours and the dogs may suffer considerably before one of them eventually dies.

I think it is very clear that we should not consider dog fighting to be a similar practice to deer hunting. Dog fighting is illegal and viewed as a sport, and not a source of food, as the dog owners gamble and watch their dogs suffer and fight to the death. While Mr. Owens may not see the difference between dog fighting and deer hunting, I think there clearly are differences that make dog fighting a much more unacceptable practice in our cultural today.

Friday, September 7, 2007

What does Civic Engagement mean to you?

By: Robert Rodgers


This year Allegheny College will participate in the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) Core Commitments Program, which is designed to educate students on personal and social responsibility through civic and community engagement. This civic engagement program is meant to teach students about their responsibilities as citizens. But what does civic engagement really mean? What responsibilities do we, as students about to enter the work force, need to care about besides getting a job and paying bills? After thinking about this question for quite some time, I decided it would help if I actually wrote down what civic engagement means to me.

When I hear the term “civic engagement,” the first thing that comes to my mind is activism in the community because of a social issue or concern. Civic Engagement involves an individual or group acting on their feelings, usually to create a positive change in the world. Civic Engagement could involve demonstrating against the unethical treatment of animals, or working at a soup kitchen on a Saturday afternoon. We are civically engaged as long as we are out in the community trying to make a positive change, expressing a belief, or simply making the world a better place to live. That is the responsibility we have as citizens in this country. We have been blessed to be able to go to a school like Allegheny where we can grow and mature as adults. It is time to share the gifts we have with others. It is time to interact and help build a better community. Only from being out in the community can we learn what is important to the community. Once we have learned what’s important to the community we can articulate this by voting or setting up neighborhood associations. That is what civic engagement is about. If we really want to make a difference in the world and become a part of a civil society, we must all do our part by being an active, concerned member of the community.