Eating on campus. And ducks
October 25, 2018 |
Telling stories about the old days: it’s a predictable feature of alumni events—which I find myself attending more often these days. I often hear tales of favorite (and otherwise memorable) professors, plus descriptions of a campus that looked far different. Such stories are good to hear, not least for the reminder that we are all stewards of a great Xavier community comprised largely of past (and future) students.
Some alumni stories surprise me. There was the 50+ year graduate who smilingly recounted that he often ran out of dining-hall tickets before the end of the week. So he resorted to selling blood each Friday—switching arms to hide the prohibited frequency of his compensated “donations.” Another graduate within earshot joined that conversation; he too had sold blood to buy food while a Xavier student, all those decades ago.
Their memories belong to Xavier’s old days. Yet we still have students who struggle to feed themselves. Surprised? I encourage you to engage the “Food Insecurity Awareness” campaign in the days ahead, organized by our own Kandi Stinson and Cindy Steiby of Residence Life, supported by a WOX grant. Learn about our on-campus food pantry—and be sure to read how Christine Anderson generously supported the pantry out of her unexpected good fortune (which involved rubber ducks on the Ohio River).
David Mengel
