Confession. »
http://thepulse-mag.org/2012/02/humantraffickingconcert/
This is what student organizations are suppose to do.
At my freshman student organization fair, I remember walking EVERYWHERE, searching for the VSA booth. When I found it, I slammed my hands on the table and said, “I finally found you guys!” Mindy, the president at the time, looked at me in surprise and said, “Well, we’ve been here!” Ever since then, I’ve been sucked into every VSA event and even moved my way up in their executive board. But, I must confess, VSA was a large disappointment.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met the best people in VSA. I’ve learned quite a bit, and I’ve had so much fun— but I wish people were more dedicated. I learned to lead in Thieu Nhi, in which everyone put in 110% all the time. HTs led with passion, we all shared common goals and we would work until those goals were accomplished. It was extremely disappointing to find that SOME of my colleagues did not have those same characteristics. Some fought for an executive title, but go MIA when needed. Others show up just to show up, but get irritated if they have stay 10 minutes after their assigned shifts. What ever happened to hard work? Commitment? But, my BIGGEST pet peeve about student organizations is the lack of purpose. I didn’t grow up in a household of money—that’s why I agonize and analyze everything I purchase. Money doesn’t grow on trees, it’s HARD WORK. Here at OSU, student orgs can apply for grants that will allot 1000-2000 dollars at a time. Surely that is enough money to make a difference in the world—even if it is only a small dent. But, most orgs will choose to use it for something very superficial—put on some show, throw some sort of party. And when we profit from these events, we so easily use to money to pay for our hotels and trips to conferences (in which most of the members only go to get drunk), but then we cringe at the thought of donating a large portion of that money to a charity. Members will show up to parties and all social events—but when it comes to a charity/volunteer event—-no one.
As a former VSA president, I’m guilty of all the things that I just mentioned. The truth is, young people (like me) care more about superficial things than things of substance. I would consider last year a success in terms of money— and we were able to donate a portion of our profits to a robust charity. But, I’m sad we couldn’t do more. I must admit that my leadership was lacking, because other things seemed more important at the time (OATs, classes, etc). However, I’m happy to see that VSA is taking a step towards the right direction. While there were not a lot of VSA members at the concert, I hope that it is because of a religion-based discomfort, and not because they don’t care.
Keep pushing VSA (and all other student orgs), you’re going to do great things.
