The selflessness of students
While Donald Trump wants to keep people from s---hole countries (people of color) out of our country, and expresses enthusiasm for encouraging more people like Norwegians to move here, I am reminded of one of my greatest experiences teaching in the State College Area School District.
Jan. 12th marked the eighth anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. In 2010, I worked in the State High LifeLink learning support class in the HUB at PSU. The students were in the midst of a fundraiser to pay for a trip to Florida to swim with the dolphins. Teri Lindner, the LifeLink classroom teacher, believed planning a trip provided a yearlong learning experience and lifelong memories.
The news was also part of each day, so the students learned about Haiti. They immediately wanted to help. “How?” “What do they need?” “Money?” “We don’t have money.” Then one student said, “We have our trip money.” The class discussed the possibility at length, and voted by secret ballot to give the money to Haiti through the U.N. They continued to work hard at fundraising until the end of the year. A supporter of LifeLink had a connection to someone who knew the Haitian ambassador. The ambassador invited everyone to visit him at his embassy in Washington, D.C. A U.N. representative met the students and accepted the check. It was amazing for me to watch those students joyfully give their hard-earned money to help the courageous people of Haiti.
Shame on Trump!
Barbara Nilsen, State College
This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 7:41 PM with the headline "The selflessness of students."