You know what it feels like when you’re reading in a car, and you have to look out the window periodically to keep from throwing up? That phenomenon sort of represents my life right now. Actually, it represents all of us.
Let me break it down: Vanderbilt is the car. That book is your schoolwork, your social life and your extracurricular activities all rolled into one. The trip’s going well; you’re making good time; and you’re probably going somewhere fantastic, but if you don’t take a glance outside the bubble every few miles, you’re going to end up puking all over that nice black and gold interior.

I’m not talking about visiting the Frist or eating dinner somewhere not on the card, I’m talking about taking time out of your life to do something to improve the world you’re going to be inhabiting in a few short years.

While philanthropic efforts are rampant on our campus, they are accompanied by a crippling myth, namely that service has a “type.” There is a certain type of person that participates in Big Brothers Big Sisters. There is a type for VSVS, one for Dance Marathon and one for Relay for Life. This idea is not only debilitating to the impact of the service but incongruous to the fact that poverty and illness themselves do not have “types.” They can, and do, strike anyone.

As much crap as we all enjoy throwing at the Greek system, the fact remains that it is the closest thing we have to mandatory community action. Each chapter fulfills requirements for hours of service performed and dollars raised from both nationals and the university. Unfortunately, Greek is the strongest and most socially divisive “type” on campus.
A number of other such events represent fervent efforts by fellow students to bring service opportunities out of the inaccessible and drop them at our front door. Except that most of us are too busy, lazy or generally unconcerned to give what little help is needed. This year’s Dance Marathon, which supports the Children’s Hospital, pre-sold less than 200 tickets. By comparison, Marathon incorporates games, food, information booths, and student performances, many of the same attractions as RecFest, which last year brought in 1,200 students.

RecFest, people. It’s Dance Marathon without the sick kids. Nice priorities, there.
Before you go blaming the economy, let me just point out that Dance Marathon as a whole was a phenomenal success. Outside donations are nearing $150,000, easily surpassing previous years’ totals. Someone out there is giving, and they’re giving a hell of a lot more than the $10 and a short van ride it would have taken you to support the cause.
This campus-wide trend is embarrassing, but there are more opportunities for involvement ahead. This year’s Relay for Life is quickly approaching, and if you want to talk about incentive, let’s talk about the Nashville-based middle school rap group that will be performing. Or the freshman frat boys who will spend most of the night lapping the quarter mile track. Or maybe the phenomenally resilient, tough-as-nails cancer survivors we are all there to support.

So put a team together. Get up off your butt, and make the effort to take a glance out the window. I promise you’ll thank me later.

Carolyn Pippen is a senior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at Carolyn.m.pippen@vanderbilt.edu.