Debbie Campbell

The Flyer - Salisbury University's Student Voice

SGA holds first annual "We Love Salisbury" campaign

Salisbury University students were given the opportunity to bond with local residents last Sunday during the first "We Love Salisbury" event, held in the Camden neighborhood, adjacent to campus.

About 120 SU students participated in the SGA-sponsored event, which mainly involved raking leaves and other yard work.

Members of the community were invited to take part in working alongside the students. This aspect made "We Love Salisbury" a little different from the annual Big Event, a program held in the spring in which SU students help out locals by working in the residents' yards, said Pat Gotham, SGA Vice President of External Affairs, who headed the "We Love Salisbury" project.

Gotham is part of a task force working to prevent crime in the Salisbury area. After an act of vandalism occurred in Salisbury about a month ago, community member Debbie Campbell, also part of the task force, called Gotham to see if anything could be done to help fix the problem other than just a civil punishment. The ideas was then born.

"I am just in awe of what was pulled together today," Campbell said. Although she noted that students who had done the vandalism most likely weren't the ones helping, she said, "Hopefully this [spirit] will just be contagious across campus."

Because SU students come from various hometowns, most students living on or around campus really don't know their neighbors, Gotham said, adding that "We Love Salisbury" helped bring the students closer to the rest of the community. It's "nice to show the community that Salisbury University is made up of good people," said Kara DeBoy, who participated in the event.

Several students said it was great to be able to help the community.

SGA Executive Vice President Allison Hueber said, "It's about the work that gets done, but it's also more about forming the bond between students and their neighbors."

Susan Ward and Sandy Smith, two local residents who both had students help in their yards, agreed that the experience was positive and that it was fun to hear the students talk about life at SU - especially because they are both alumni.

Mark Preziosi, another local, noted, "We can't say how grateful we are." His wife Betsy added that the help "saved us a lot of time."

"I really appreciate the help," said resident Andrea Coulsen.

Student Tiara Dorsey, describe the event as a "fun experience," as did many other students who took part on Sunday.

After working with the community members for up to three hours, students and residents gathered for a cookout held in Holloway Hall.

Gotham noted the plan is that "We Love Salisbury," which he said was a "huge success," will become an annual fall event.

SGA President Lili Afkhami said, " For being a first-year event, it was absolutely outstanding."