Jan. 23, 2001
• News ^
OXFAM meal teaches
students about world hunger
Faith Gaskins
Reporter
Every day, 34,000 children
under the age of five die from hun
ger and related causes. More than
half a billion people worldwide are
malnourished, including 30 per
cent of all children age five and
under.
Oxfam America was
founded in 1970 to help change
these statistics. Since its founding,
the organization has helped fight
global poverty and hunger by work
ing in partnership with grassroots
organizations promoting sustain
able development in Africa, Asia,
the Caribbean and the Americas.
This Thursday, Elon’s Stu
dents for Peace and Justice helped
organize a hunger banquet in the
Isabella Cannon Room here on
campus. The group sold tickets to
students and faculty in the area,
with all proceeds going to benefit
Oxfam America. The luncheon
helped illustrate the poverty and
starvation levels that currently ex
ist throughout the world.
As the participants in this
educational activity arrived at the
door, they were given a colored
raffle ticket. These colors repre
sented the student’s economic con
dition for the banquet.
Sophomore Courtney Titus
said: “This banquet was just a great
opportunity to get together with
other students and faculty members
and gain a little education about
world hunger statistics. I really feel
like I learned a lot.”
The four attendents who re
ceived a pink ticket were allowed to
sit at the privileged table and eat
from the larger buffet table, con
taining a full meal (seen at bottom
left). They represented the high-in-
come group. This group accounts
for only 15 percent of the popula
tion, yet consumes 75 percent of the
global resources.
A second group was given a
green ticket. This group represented
the world’s middle class . These
people were also allowed to sit at a
table but could only eat beans and
rice.
The remaining students
formed the third and largest group;
they were given yellow tickets.
These students represented the 55
percent of the world population who
Adam Waterson / Photography Editor
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face hunger as a threat to their
survival on a daily basis. They had
to sit on the floor and were given
only a cup full of rice and dirty
water.
“I felt so guilty being in the
privileged group,” Shanna Sperry
said. “It was really hard to eat all of
the food provided for us knowing
that the other groups had so little.”
After the students had fin
ished eating, they were given the
opportunity to express their feel
ings about the structure of the ban
quet. Many discussed feelings of
guilt concerning the situation of
the students sitting on the floor and
offered to share the food they had
with those students.
Vanessa Kitchen, a member
of Students for Peace and Justice,
said; “It’s great because, at the ban
Adam Waterson / Photography Editor
quet, we make our own rules. In the
real world, it isn’t that simple to
share food with those who need it
more than we do.”
If the world’s food supply
was distributed equally, every man,
woman and child would receive
2,500 calories a day, more than the
minimum needed for basic survival.
“It’s so upseUing to find out
that we could feed everyone in the
world if the natural wealth were
distributed evenly,” participant
Amanda Easoz said.
“Participating in activities
like this helps to increase aware
ness about the problem of world
hunger,” Kitchen said. “It’s so easy
to forget how lucky so many of us
are in that we never wonder where
our next meal is coming from.”
Computer repair
shop opens
Sally Lynch
Reporter
After the Campus Com
puter Shop closed last Septem
ber, students did not have place a
to take their computers when
there was a problem.
However, now there is such
a place. Before the end of fall
semester, a campus owned com
puter repair shop opened next to
Brown & Co. Food and Drinkery.
“During the last four to five
years, separate computer compa*
nies have all been here and have
all failed,” Wayne Thompson
said. The store’s director added:
“So, Elon College opened their
own computer shop. The com
puter programmers are more fa
miliar with the network because
of this.”
In the repair shop, network
ing items are for sale to students
and faculty members. Thomp
son estimates that 45 students
have used the repair shop.
The repair shop, which is
open for business Monday
through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m.
ummo YOUR ACHIfVEMENI
January 31st - February 2nd (Wednesday - Friday)
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m
Moseley Center