By Gustav Hollnagel–It was time for another edition of Morningside’s “Into the Streets” event. On Wednesday, October 3, 750 Morningside students went out to do community service, an ingraining tradition at Morningside every year.
Into the Streets is put on by the committee of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), an upper classmen honor society. It is intended to have students give back to the community. This year, about 750 students went out with their campus groups, sports teams, or organizations to help 70 agencies around the Siouxland community.
Some students read stories to children. Others moved furniture or helped clean up some of the agencies’ facilities. To get 70 agencies to participate is not a miracle, but takes much effort by the organization of the event.
Junior student Nancy Seeman said, “I went to the Sioux City Public Museum and assisted their janitorial staff in dusting and cleaning of the artifacts. Not only was this a great opportunity for volunteering, but the dance team was lucky enough to learn some more about their community as well through reading and looking at the displays.”
Krystal Carlsson, a leader for ODK, said,” I would say the biggest obstacle is getting in contact with the agencies. Many agencies took a number of phone calls because there would be no answer, you had to talk to the right person, or you wouldn’t get a returned call.”
Senior student Adam Sullivan was pleased with the organization of the event overall. He said, “The student leaders did a great job. Serving others always yields a good experience for me.”
However, students had different experiences with organization. Seeman said when she showed up at her agency they were a bit unaware that a group of students was coming, but they nonetheless appreciated the chance to receive some help.
With this many agencies involved, some of them might agree to participate but actually have little for students to do. Other agencies would probably like more help than offered, since students could help only until about noon so that they did not have to sacrifice obligations they had at the college.
Despite the different levels of help need and provided, Carlsson thought the event was a big success. All the agencies that got back to her expressed their appreciation and gratefulness to connect and work with the students.
“We more than doubled the number of agencies that were served last year,” Carlsson said. She knows there is always room for improvement, though. “Things that need improvement may be getting even more of the campus to come volunteer, specifically upper classman. In addition, it would be nice to get more of the people that sign up to actually show up.”
It appears that Morningside has created a worthy tradition. Over 60 percent of full-time students participate. More than 50 student and faculty groups got involved. The connection to the community may also not be the only advantage of this event.
Seeman said, “Being with my team also made it an enjoyable day because we were able to bond as a team through helping our community.”
A junior also pointed out the educational benefit of the community service. “We picked up trash on the bypass between Hwy 75 and the I75 bypass. It made me really think about littering and made me realize how one piece of paper and can make the environment look that much dirtier.”
I spoke with a student who goes to school somewhere else and didn’t know about this event. She said, “You guys have an all-campus community service day? I wished we had that.” Maybe Into the Streets could inspire other educational institutions to use their student body for a good cause.
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