What Do You Stand For?

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GREENCASTLE, IN (27 Sept 2009)—This past weekend, DePauw University took a stand for Universal Primary Education. Six students in the newly formed chapter of Building Tomorrow stood on the corner of Hanna & Locust Streets, (the main intersection at the university) adhering to three rules for 24 hours straight: no sitting, no leaning, no sleeping. The goal? Raise awareness about the need for universal access to primary education and raise $1,000 towards the construction of a new primary-level academy for 325 students in Uganda.

The six standers were joined by over 60 students who supported them with food, music, board games and even foot massages. DePauw’s President, Brian Casey showed his support by supplying the standers with a midnight snack of 50 cheeseburgers and fries. As students and parents passed by, standers distributed information about issues confronting Uganda and Building Tomorrow’s efforts to help achieve universal primary education.

“$45,000 [the cost of building a school in Uganda] is barely more than one year of DePauw tuition and is only $20 per student,” said David Dietz, the co-director of the DePauw University chapter.

The standoff far exceeded expectations, raising more than $7,600, enough to fund their first classroom.

Needless to say, they far exceeded their expectations. For the newly formed Building Tomorrow chapter, The Standoff is just the tip of the iceberg. Reflecting on the success of the past weekend while taking some much needed time to sit down, Dietz said “We’ve almost reached our goal for the semester [$10,000] and we haven’t even had our big event yet!” The chapter kicked-off the fall semester with a benefit concert that raised nearly $2,000 and was attended by nearly 350 students; a large feat for a new group on campus considering the total student population at DePauw is less than 2,300.

Up next at DePauw is Dine out for BT on October 8th; an all-you-can-eat buffet at The Duck, a local restaurant donating 100% of the night’s proceeds to BT. To top it off, Greek Houses on campus have agreed to cancel their dinners on the night of the event, with some donating the money that would have been spent on food to BT.

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