Americans are good at many things. We know how to devote as little energy as possible to driving while we’re on the phone with friends updating them about our kickass weekend. We can order a grande nonfat no-whip white chocolate mocha without a hint of irony. We can look like model citizens by liking groups on Facebook that we really know nothing about in between rounds of Farmville. We also excel at raising awareness about important issues, like AIDS, that we can totally cure if enough people wear a plastic bracelet.
Being on a liberal college campus, we have hundreds of opportunities to join clubs, hear speakers and support causes. We are bombarded with ways to get involved and make a difference. There are petitions to sign, rallies to attend, and e-mail lists to get on for any cause you could imagine. Some causes have even become campus-wide. There have been hugely successful charity events that have raised awareness on issues that may have been neglected. Occasionally, money has even been raised. But the question to consider is: why do students feel compelled to become involved in the first place?
Earlier this semester, the comedian Christian Lander came to the Union with his “Stuff White People Like” Tour. One of his gags was that white people like raising awareness about problems but letting other people deal with actually solving them. He said charity events featured white people doing things they already like, such as having dinners, participating in runs or selling T-shirts, but with the added bonus of feeling satisfied that they had made a difference. While this was a comedic tour specifically targeted at whites, many of the things he said were not exclusive to any particular race and rang true for this campus as a whole. Students have thrown dance parties, held bake sales and organized concerts under the guise of charity events. While these events have been successful, they are not the most cost-effective way to raise money. While it is fun to get something in return for a donation, it leads one to wonder if students are more motivated by the incentives or the causes themselves.
Are we inclined to buy a T-shirt if we know some of the proceeds go to a humanitarian cause because we want to do something good, or because we want the self-satisfaction of having done our part by buying ourselves something?
Take the Crazylegs Run as an example. For the past 29 years students have been involved in this Madisonian tradition, which had a record of 20,450 participants this past year. Among those who ran were members of 255 Fun and Fitness Teams that were comprised of co-workers, families or people supporting a common cause. Teams ran for friends with MS, loved ones lost to cancer or neighbors with diabetes. Their T-shirts trumpeted inspiring messages and memorials. Yet not a penny went to their causes: all the proceeds went to support UW Athletics. There is nothing wrong with raising money for the university, but it leads one to wonder what those Fun and Fitness Teams accomplished. They could feel satisfied that they honored those close to them, but no money was directly raised to go to cancer research; no donations were collected for hospitals. They raised awareness, but for potentially selfish reasons.
Another example of campuswide charity work was the reaction to the earthquake in Haiti. Different groups raised over $10,000 through varied events, and while their efforts led to a successful initiative, some events seemed to be designed to get a large number of participants instead of to have a large impact. Renting a space and hiring a DJ for the dance party may have encouraged more participation, but it also cost money that could’ve been donated directly to the cause. One could argue that students wouldn’t have gotten involved at all if it weren’t for events like these, but maybe that means that we are not supporting causes that students could actually become passionate about.
It is difficult to determine what motivates students to get involved with issues. Volunteer work is seen as a good resume builder, and students can often be guilt-tripped into giving away their spare change, but those things aren’t taken into account when determining how successful a charity event went.
Students can feel the satisfaction of having done a good thing while really putting in minimal effort, and that is unfair to the people who actually care about the causes and are in it for more than recognition. On this campus and in this country we are trying to find simple solutions to huge problems, and we will fail every time if that is our plan of attack.
Allegra Dimperio ([email protected]) is a freshman intending to major in journalism.
