DATE: March 20, 2008

CONTACT: Chelsea Reighard, (864) 650-5506
creigha@g.clemson.edu

WRITER: Angela Nixon, (864) 656-0382
anixon@clemson.edu

Students promote advocacy during 'Act! Speak! Build! Week'

CLEMSON – Three Clemson University student organizations are teaming up to encourage social action and advocacy during the first “Act! Speak! Build! Week” March 24-29.

Clemson’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, along with the Clemson ONE Campaign and THINK, has planned a number of events for the week to get students thinking about activism and how they can make an impact on poverty, homelessness and other social issues.

“The advocacy groups of Clemson are very fragmented and frequently have small, isolated events spread through the year,” said Chelsea Reighard, president of Habitat for Humanity at Clemson and a senior genetics major from Clemson. “By forming Act! Speak! Build! Week, I wanted to give student groups a chance to showcase their advocacy interests and broaden the scope of their influence.”

The week begins with a presentation by Derreck Kayongo, a refugee from Uganda, at 4 p.m. Monday, March 24, at the Strom Thurmond Institute. He will speak on behalf of CARE International, a humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting global poverty. Kayongo will address the struggle against HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Students can learn about how they can get involved with an advocacy group in an Advocacy Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, at the University Union and Cox Plaza. Representatives from student organizations and national groups will be on hand to answer questions and talk with students.

A discussion panel of Clemson faculty at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, in Tillman Hall auditorium, will address topics such as the importance of social action in society, the integration of social action in education and how students can become advocates for change.

On Thursday, March 27, documentaries about various social issues will be shown from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the multi-use room in the Hendrix Student Center.

A dinner at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 28, at the University Lutheran Church will raise awareness about poverty with a presentation by David Moore of Habitat for Humanity International. Moore will discuss poverty housing in the United States. People attending the dinner are asked to bring non-perishable food items for donation to Clemson Community Care.

Students will learn about homelessness in a “Box-Out” Friday night on Bowman Field. Starting at 9 p.m., students will spend the night in cardboard boxes to raise awareness about homelessness in America.