According to recent reports, more than one billion people in the world currently live on less than a dollar per day. On March 23, 20 St. John’s undergraduates traveled to the United Nations Missions of Italy and Indonesia in midtown New York to discuss the U.N.’s ongoing public campaign to eliminate world poverty by 2015.
The student trip, sponsored by the Lower Hudson Valley Catholic College and University Consortium, is the latest in a series of recent St. John’s initiatives to foster campus-wide awareness of global politics. The theme of the daylong event centered on the U.N. Millennium Development Campaign, which was created by signed declaration during the 2000 U.N. Millennium Summit and comprises eight goals devoted to worldwide social justice.
Co-organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the trip allowed undergraduates from member institutions of the consortium to spend the morning at various Missions, conversing with secretaries and counselors. Each school in the consortium divided students into two groups, sending them to the Missions of one developing and one developed country. During the second half of the day, students from all schools convened at nearby Church of the Holy Family to compare their experiences.
Following are the eight Millennium Goals:
to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
to achieve universal primary education
to promote gender equality and empower women
to reduce child mortality
to improve maternal health
to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
to ensure environmental sustainability
to develop a global partnership for development
Reggie Barnes, St. John’s Director of Multicultural Affairs, who accompanied students to the two Missions, said that these types of fieldtrips are crucial for St. John’s undergraduates, who “need to be prepared for the global society they’re going to enter once they graduate.â€
For natives of foreign countries, the benefit is reciprocal, said Shampi Ali, Representative for the Indonesian Mission to the U.N., after meeting with students. “The main problem human beings are facing today is ignorance, and we need to prepare college students to be receptive to different cultures, traditions and faiths,†he said. “When I met with St. John’s students, I grasped a strong commitment to learn. And that really is appreciated.â€
Going Global
Recently, St. John’s has been distinguishing itself as a university increasingly committed to global involvement and service. This academic year the University launched its inaugural Discover the World study-abroad program, giving undergraduates the opportunity to spend a semester in three European cities, studying indigenous cultures and serving the local poor and disadvantaged. Plans are currently underway to unveil similar programs in Africa and Latin America.
Meanwhile, the Office of Multicultural Affairs is capitalizing on the close proximity between the United Nations and the University’s four New York campuses. Last November, St. John’s student representatives traveled to the U.N. to attend a meeting with several representatives to learn more about the global influence of non-governmental organizations. (“NGOs†are not-for-profit, voluntary citizens’ groups organized to address issues in support of the public good. They often enjoy special access to U.N. projects, according to Barbara Black, Executive Director of the Lower Hudson Valley Consortium.) In September, a student group from St. John’s will travel to the U.S. Mission in Manhattan to readdress the status of the Millennium Development Campaign.
Based on student feedback, administrators in the Office of Multicultural Affairs have begun work with several St. John’s undergraduates to develop a University campaign to promote campus awareness of the eight U.N. Millennium Goals. According to Barnes, the campaign would be administered by a student-run “United Nations group†committed to tracking all U.N. developments. The initiative would spawn student trips to the U.N., fundraising programs and cultural-awareness events such as film series, arts programs and food fairs. In addition, the multicultural affairs office would pledge to collaborate with consortium officials to develop a for-credit course providing an introduction to the numerous NGOs in the New York area.
“The effort to form a U.N. group is now coming off the ground, and students are working on it feverishly,†says Sharla Elcock, a junior government and politics major from Trinidad and Tobago, noting that a group constitution is already being drafted.
“We really want to utilize the U.N. as a resource,†adds Ray DeVries, a senior sociology and history double-major from Brooklyn. “We want to use this daytrip to the U.N. Mission houses as a springboard to tap into the international flavor of the St. John’s student body — we have kids from all over the world here.â€
On April 10, the Office of Multicultural Affairs will add to the recent spate of University-sponsored cultural events by hosting a lecture titled “Misconceptions of Islam,†by Representative Ali and Syed Meesam Razvi of the Queens-based Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center, which consults with the U.N. Economic and Social Council. The talk, which will be followed by a panel discussion involving several Muslim students from St. John’s, is part of the University’s monthly “Tolerance and Civility†lecture series.
“We’re always trying to break barriers and open lines of communication about ethnicity and race,†says Barnes. “This lecture on Islam will help break down the stereotypes about Muslims.â€
Vincentian Mission: “Not Just for New Yorkâ€
The U.N. trip neatly exemplifies the University’s Vincentian mission of serving the poor, says Rev. James Maher, C.M., Vice President of Student Affairs, who, along with Special Assistant Cindy Grossman, worked with consortium officials to develop the day’s events. “In our vision statement, we speak clearly about seeking out the causes of poverty,†he says. “The trip was a great way for students to engage in academic learning — to use the laboratory of life in order to understand the causes of poverty and to be a part of solution-based approaches.â€
The students echo the sentiments of Father Maher, but a few, inspired by their recent trip and sensing the promise of a new U.N. group on campus, feel that the Vincentian mission calls them to do more.
“We’re Vincentian, but that doesn’t mean that we’re only meant to be Vincentian on campus or in New York,†says Elcock. “We need more awareness about international issues on campus. We need to be Vincentian for developing countries.â€
Adds DeVries: “St. John’s is a great buffer zone, but it’s really valuable and totally in line with the Vincentian mission to meet with U.N. representatives to learn how entire countries, as opposed to individual people, can bring peace and prosperity to the world’s poor. At St. John’s, we give sandwiches to hungry people in New York, but through the U.N., we can give sandwiches to the world.â€
Tags: Poverty Analysis
