We Love Salisbury Campaign

Now that we had an idea, it was time to start working. How can we get the word out to neighbors? A group of SGA senators and I went door to door handing out envelopes addressed to the SGA that included a letter explaining the event and a form to fill out and return requesting that their yard be cleaned. We also needed clubs on campus to get involved. On such short notice, this was a difficult task, so campus wide e-mails were sent out to all students. Five days before the event, there were less than 20 students signed up to clean up over 20 yards in less than three hours. I didn't think it was going to happen, but through asking my friends and getting overwhelming responses from them and clubs to which they belong. The day before the event there were just over 100 students signed up. The day of the event, Sunday November 16, over 120 students came out to help! The students went out into the neighborhood and cleaned just under 30 yards. The community was working together! After three hours of cleaning, students and neighbors were invited back to the university, where they ate a picnic that was moved inside because of the wind and cold. When I arrived at the social after taking care of all of the behind the scenes work, I found students and neighbors talking to one another. They were having actual conversations. I was told that there were even more people at the event before I arrived, and that the amount of socializing was fantastic. I talked to several community members, and they all loved what happened. Some neighbors had health problems that prevented them from helping with the work, but they still socialized. I did not get any negative feedback, which was an incredibly rare occurrence. Tensions were definitely eased between students and neighbors because the number of police reports that come in have decreased. That's not to say that the reports have stopped coming in. There are some students and neighbors that may never change their attitudes/ opinions, but doing something is better than nothing. The campaign is not done yet. There's a lot more to happen. We, as an SGA, are working to communicate to the students living in residence halls how to behave in the community. We are trying multiple methods of getting the word out concerning information and facts and tips for students living off campus and venturing off campus. We want to make t-shirts for students. We want posters made and sidewalks to have chalk writing. We also want demonstrations to happen and reach students. The cleanup was just the beginning of what I hope to be a great campaign that will reach many and help the problem get solved. After all, we all live in Salisbury, and we all love Salisbury!