The O’Collegian

Habitat for Humanity Week has begun at OSU. Habitat for Humanity International builds dwellings for those in need around the world, including those affected by disasters. Stillwater has a chapter of Habitat, among whose members are community leaders and professors. OSU also has its own separate chapter of Habitat for Humanity, entirely made up of students and a faculty adviser, Jim Stein.

Publicity Chair Caysie Taylor, a forestry junior, said that the student chapter tries to work with the Stillwater Habitat group building sites, painting and other activities. This week, members of OSU’s chapter will raise money for attending Habitat for Humanity’s “Collegiate Challenge” in Santa Fe during Spring Break.

Valerie Cerny, OSU’s current Habitat President, described the Collegiate Challenge as “a weeklong build where you go and build with other universities across the U.S.”

To raise money for the trek to Santa Fe, Habitat members will hold a bake sale all week in the Student Union. The group will also sell flowers for Valentine’s Day. On Tuesday, El Chico’s restaurant, which helps to sponsor various student groups, will host OSU’s Habitat for Humanity, giving 20 percent of its profits towards the Santa Fe trip. There are about 30 members in the OSU chapter, and in the last couple of years the group has grown again after being fairly inactive for several years.

This is the second year that the group has had a Habitat Week in order to raise money.

Last year was the first year in some time that OSU members participated in Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge. The group went to Slidell, La., about 2 miles from New Orleans. OSU students worked with about 300 students from across the nation, from universities such as Ohio State and Oregon.

Christina Bell, OSU Habitat’s Vice-President, attended Collegiate Challenge in Louisiana last year, and said that the students involved from around the country worked from “8 to 5 in the afternoon” and built several houses during the weeklong stay.

The experience was especially rewarding for those involved as they worked with the people who would actually be receiving the houses, Bell said.

Bell said that even today, New Orleans is still almost demolished.

This emphasizes the incredible amount of man-hours and resources still needed to rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina. Bell described the opportunity and experience as “amazing.”

This year, OSU’s Habitat plans to send 15 volunteers to work with other university students in needy areas of Santa Fe, NM.

The volunteers, about half of OSU’s entire chapter, will drive to Santa Fe and need OSU students to help pay for their trip.