Campus active in ONE campaign to end poverty
Posted on January 14, 2008
The ONE campaign, aimed at ending global poverty and AIDS, ranked JMU 87 out of the 100 most active schools in the nation.
Representatives from the top schools were invited to attend the ONE Campus Challenge Power 100 Summit in Washington D.C. on Jan. 2-5. Senior Maisie Pigeon and Misty Newman, an administrator in financial aid and scholarships, were invited to the Capitol Building, which gathered a host of different speakers.
“There were members of the World Bank, the World Health Organization, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and even first daughter Jenna Bush,” said Pigeon, a regional outreach ambassador with the ONE campaign. “It was so wonderful to hear them speak with such an in-depth knowledge of what we are fighting.”
Pigeon said that there were about ten speakers per day and each covered a different issue, with topics ranging from malaria to debt relief to maternal and child healthcare.
“It really renewed my faith in our representatives on the hill and to people in influential positions, both nationally and internationally,” said Newman, who is active in JMU’s chapter. “They genuinely care. Unfortunately, I think I had become a bit apathetic toward many people’s positions because it seemed hard to tell their intention, but their passion was very evident.”
There was a question-and-answer session for the audience following the speakers.
“After Newt Gingrich finished, a guy in the audience told him his thoughts and Gingrich goes, ‘Wow, I never thought of it like that,’” Pigeon said. “It was so awesome that someone like us made Newt Gingrich say that.”
With representatives from all over the country thrown together for three days, both girls enjoyed getting to know the other student leaders.
“The format was great because you couldn’t stay with the same group every day, so we got mixed up with everyone,” Pigeon said. “We got to interact with a real plethora of schools and people.”
Newman was impressed by all the student leaders’ passion for the campaign.
“It was a great experience for me as a student affairs professional to see students so completely engaged,” Newman said. “Even when we would hang out socially, the conversation seemed to stem back to how they could really see the big picture.”
The summit was filled with many people with the same goal, giving Newman a new outlook on students her age.
“It was just great to meet 100 other student leaders from campuses all over the country,” Newman said. “The energy was palpable. I think often times students may get a bad rap about how they’re not engaged civically or that all they ever do is party, but this conference really demonstrated otherwise.”
Pigeon attributes the jump in JMU’s ranking to recruiting and student involvement, such as calling representatives in Congress and submitting pictures of activities on campus.
“I sent in a picture of my dog wearing a ONE T-shirt,” Pigeon said.
Pigeon and Newman are still actively recruiting new members and promoting ONE.
“It is a movement that doesn’t stop,” Pigeon said. “Poverty always affects people.”
The ONE campaign is trying to hold the conference at least twice a year. Pigeon and Newman said that there will be another conference this summer.
Overall, the ONE student leaders said that they took more away from the summit than what they came in with.
“I came away feeling like I learned tremendously, made great connections with amazing student leaders, and had a renewed commitment to be not only an advocate, but an activist for issues,” Newman said.
Pigeon also learned a lot from the experience.
“It was so great to see a bunch of college-aged students care about events outside of their realm, by taking action, recruiting their friends and making an impact,” she said. “It just goes to show that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
