The Red and Black

Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Opinions

LUCAS PUENTE

Poverty, emphasized during academic discussions regarding national issues, is too often neglected in our own Athens-Clarke County.

Although there are many honorable organizations on campus and in the community working to address this issue, I wonder why this is not a more public part of on-campus advocacy. I think it is time for us, as students at the University, to make a true push toward addressing this issue.

I, as an international affairs major, advocate "thinking globally," though we also must follow this up by "acting locally." By fully addressing issues on both a macro and micro level, we'll finally be acting as stewards of Athens-Clarke County.

Today 25 percent of children and 28.3 percent of the general population living in ACC are doing so below the poverty line. In other words, there are about 11,000 households living in poverty in Athens.

To put that in a nation-wide perspective, ACC has the fifth-highest poverty rate in the nation among counties with more than 100,000 residents. To make matters worse, Athens' homeless population was about 475 in 2006. To me, these numbers are nothing but an embarrassment to our institution, the hallmark of the county.

The University's property tax exemption doesn't help alleviate fiscal strains on the local government, as so much of the county's potential revenue is not ever accounted for. Likewise, competition between local families and students for housing results in increased housing costs and a worsening of the poverty situation.

All of this is hard to swallow: The state's premier higher education institution, by its nature and not necessarily its actions, puts many in an economic hardship.

However, as previously alluded to, there are notable efforts on campus. First and foremost, Partners for a Prosperous Athens is working full-time to fight poverty with the generous, dedicated help of campus and community leaders.

Additionally, many individual students are pursuing their own community service projects.

Furthermore, I'm excited about the path the University is taking in the continued fight against poverty in ACC. As an institution and the primary employer in ACC, we continue progressing toward paying all employees a living wage.

Service also continues to grow as part of the University umbrella. For this, I believe Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, Art Dunning, should be commended. Additionally, the Honors Program is beginning a strong new push for increased service among its students and the University as a whole.

I've had the privilege of taking two classes in which community service was a vital component of the course structure. These professors took the aforementioned "think globally, act locally" to a new level by incorporating it into their curriculum.

Like these professors, I believe that if people are to understand problems on a large scale, they first must comprehend the basis of these issues on a first-hand level. The need for community involvement as part of the educational curriculum is clear. I'm excited about the growing level of this in the classroom and encourage its continued growth.

My organization, the Roosevelt Institution, is taking steps to address this situation in its own way. We're hosting dialogue between portions of Athens' underrepresented population in a partnership with the One Athens initiative. This dialogue aims to provide policy feedback to community members and leaders and is part of the broader Students Together Ending Poverty movement. This promises to be an opportunity to make real change in Athens and improve the lives of our fellow Athenians.

On that note, I'd like to encourage everyone at the University to move forward even more in his or her own way in the fight to address poverty.

Whatever your organization is, you can help. From addressing housing needs to providing help on income tax returns to tutoring students, any and everyone attending this institution can and should provide help. It's simple, it's convenient and it produces results. So, instead of wasting that extra hour of your day on Facebook, why not take some time to help your neighbors? It's time we all did.

- Lucas Puente is a sophomore majoring in international affairs and finance. He is a center director for the Roosevelt Institution.

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