Nothing But Nets

On September 30th, Allegheny College took a stand against malaria by participating in a 5k road race. Allegheny students were joined by their professors, administrators, local community members and even their parents to raise money for bed nets. Students and faculty had been training for this day, and on the day of the race it showed! Not only were the finishing times impressive, but more importantly, Allegheny College raised over $1,200 for bed nets!

There was a wide range of participation with over 100 students taking part in the event. The race course was challenging with many hills, and it covered difficult terrain over brick roads- but this did not stop the runners and walkers, who were dedicated to raising money for bed nets. Participants came from campus organizations such as Alpha Phi Omega, Gator activities programming, The wellness committee, Allegheny student government, residence life, greek life, and many others. The collaboration of the many campus organizations worked extremely well and helped not only to fight malaria, but also to bridge the gap between campus organizations and encourage them to work together toward a common cause.

On July 15-17th, Buzzcuts competition winners came to Washington D.C. for the first annual Buzzcuts retreat. Coming in from across the country, participants represented Allegheny College, Boston College, DePauw University, Harvard University, Middlebury College, Northwestern University, University of Nebraska Medical College, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Wells College, Wesleyan, and West Virginia University.

Allegheny College may be a small liberal arts school in Meadville, PA, but our spirit is big, especially when it involves service and action to raise awareness and work toward solutions. When I was approached by Rev. Sarah Daniels Roncolato of Grace United Methodist church in class about the Nothing But Nets campaign, there was not a doubt in my mind that Allegheny College could make an impact on this effort. Rev. Roncolato set up a small meeting where we formulated ideas of ways that our school could make an impact, and out of this meeting was the idea to have a faculty and staff basketball game. At the time, we did not know how much work would be involved in this project, but we were willing to take on the challenge because we believed in the sprit of Allegheny, and I am so glad that we did not give up.

On March 10th Allegheny College came together for the first annual Allegheny Nothing But Nets Faculty and Staff Basketball Game.