When President Barack Obama launched his Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge last March, he recognized Ohio University as a leader in the Better Together campaign.
Since then, OU’s campaign has promoted interfaith cooperation, and it has tackled domestic poverty, food insecurity and international water security.
A group of more than 100 students and community members gathered to dance and hear OU President Roderick McDavis speak on the importance of campus diversity and the impact students can leave during Tuesday’s Better Together Ball.
“Since becoming president of the university eight years ago, I have seen students embrace diversity and share it in the community,” McDavis said. “I ask that each and every day we take advantage of the diversity in Athens and reach out to those who are different.”
The world doesn’t become a better world with the creation of laws, rules or regulations, rather through building friendships and relationships, McDavis said.
“True diversity is about stepping outside of your comfort zone, connecting with the people around you and working together to better the world,” he said.
Olivia Suttles, a junior studying journalism, said she was glad that McDavis emphasized campus diversity.
“We do have a really diverse campus,” she said. “But I feel like not many people know how truly diverse it is. Events like this get me out of my usual homogenous group of friends and help me recognize the diversity on campus.”
The event provided dance music and an opportunity to take photos with McDavis and to participate in a United Campus Ministry poster campaign.
Guests donated $1 or a canned good to enter the ball. More than $100 was raised for charity: water, a nonprofit focused on water security in developing nations, and the canned goods were collected for local food pantries.
The charity: water campaign has been going on since fall quarter, said Anne McGlamery, a sophomore studying history and a Better Together steering committee member.
Through events such as the Better Together Ball and the current competitions in residence halls throughout campus, Better Together hopes to raise $5,000 by the end of the year to help charity: water build a well in a developing nation.
“The whole campaign has been going well,” McGlamery said. “It has been steady throughout the whole year, and I think we are going to be very successful in our efforts.”
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