Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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NU Gives Back uses event to question student impact beyond campus

NU Gives Back held its first panel Thursday, critiquing Northwestern service efforts for remaining in an insulated campus “bubble” and offering suggestions for expanding its reach.

Six student group leaders spoke at “Beyond the Bubble” to a crowd of about 30 students at Parkes Hall about social justice on the Northwestern campus and in the Evanston community.

“We wanted to start out the year contextualizing the service we do at Northwestern,” said Communication junior Kira Hooks, president of NU Gives Back and moderator of the panel. “We want to discuss and critique how effectively we are serving our communities and how to reach communities outside the bubble.”

The panel included leaders from organizations including Global Engagement Summit, Engineers for a Sustainable World, NU Stands with Japan and Northwestern Community Development Corps. The panel spoke about balancing charitable giving with schoolwork, the differences between service and philanthropy, and raising awareness about service through education.

“A lot of the time service stops being about those who are being served, and becomes more about the people serving,” said Weinberg senior Neal Emery, co-director of GlobalhealthU at GlobeMed.

The discussion centered on the motivations of NU students to engage in their community and how activism plays a role outside the NU campus bubble.

“Service is not just in nonprofit,” said McCormick senior Sahil Mehta of NU Stands with Pakistan and Leading for Evanston and Northwestern Development. “There are hundreds of ways to serve people. There is an inherent joy into bringing joy into someone’s life.”

The discussion moved to Dance Marathon after Mehta said service should not be measured in hours. An audience member then asked a question about DM’s value. Panelists said although DM donates a huge amount of money to charities, the event does not do much to educate dancers about service.

“There is a difference between measuring and maintaining impact,” said panelist and McCormick senior Sam Malin, a member of Engineers for a Sustainable World.

DM wasn’t the only service event brought up during the discussion. Hooks asked panelists whether they think the many “NU Stands With” campaigns are effective.

Panelists praised these groups for raising awareness but said they could do a better job of educating student donors about their specific causes. With so many similar causes, they said, students may just be blindly donating.

Moving outside the Evanston bubble, Hooks said, involves traveling off campus to help people in Chicago. NU Gives Back formed last year to achieve this goal, she said.

“NU Gives Back was founded by a group of the FUP (Freshmen Urban Program) counselors who wanted to bring their energy for the Chicago community to Northwestern,” Hooks said.

NU Gives Back held its first day of community service last May. The event sent about 360 students, faculty and alumni to nearly 30 sites throughout Evanston and Chicago. The event supported causes ranging from the Lincoln Park Community Shelter to the Evanston American Cancer Society.

The panel marked NU Gives Back’s first event besides the service day. Stephanie O’Connor, secretary of NU Gives Back, said that at future events the organization hopes to discuss more controversial topics as they relate to service.

“I was really happy with the turnout,” said the Weinberg sophomore. “In the future, choosing to discuss more thought provoking topics will allow people to develop an opinion on social justice and that’s how we will bring about change.”

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Editor’s note: This article incorrectly stated Neal Emery’s affiliation. It has been updated to reflect the correction. The Daily regrets the error.

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NU Gives Back uses event to question student impact beyond campus