Every day I get up and go down to the caf and grab breakfast before I head out to class. The cost to my back pocket: $ 0. About noon, I head over to J & H or the Sac and use my card to buy a meal, but it still doesn’t cost me anything (unless you count student loans for the next decade). Then, about 6 every evening, Irby brings over dinner to the caf. Once again, it costs me nothing but the effort to get off my lazy butt and get it.

One of my first Sunday’s at Epiphany, Pastor Eric brought up one of the best points I have heard in my last three years in college. The term “poor college student” is a misnomer. For most students, and all students at MCPC, we are housed and fed.  We have two of the most important things in life, and then we have a bonus, “free” wireless. God forbid we not have plentiful and reliable wireless internet access.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

This weekend, a few students at MCPC had an event for “Hunger and Homelessness Month.” Not having any other plans, and choosing not to do homework, I tagged along on the first event on Friday evening. We were each given $ 2 to buy dinner for ourselves. This was in an effort to represent only having a minimum amount of cash to buy our meal for the day. Some of us ended up in a variety of fast food places. This helped me to realize a few things.

Photo Courtesy of Sarah Baranik

First, there is so very little that you can get for $ 2. Second, what you can get doesn’t normally constitute a real meal. And finally, if you went the way I did and got a fast food meal, the available choices tend to be unhealthy when compared to what I would prefer to eat.

The weekend continued with a screening of the Soloist, 24 hours of prayer, and donations of meals from wealthy Temple Id cards.

I choose not to participate in the donation of meals and what’s more, I was treated to a luxurious dinner at Parc, a Steven Starr restaurant near Rittenhouse Square. The meal was very good; however it could have provided me with a daily McDonalds’ dollar meal through May. It’s quite a juxtaposition.

Photo Courtesy of Visitphilly.com

As I have said before, I don’t think that a huge healthcare plan is the answer. I can’t prove it, but it would seem that making healthy and cost efficient food available to everyone would be a better idea. The benefits of local urban greening programs and farmer’s markets have been proven though. Just something to think about until next week, until then…

LOVE. PHILLY.

Derek

Out of frustration from tonight’s debate in Philadelphia, I removed myself from the glare of the television to reflect on what happened last Sunday.
It was the Compassion Forum, held at our school. The two people who happened to be debating this evening also happened to be the subjects of the forum. I also happened to get a golden ticket, allowing me to attend.
As a student at Messiah College, I had a great sense of pride seeing the candidates on campus, and felt as though the faith leaders brought fair and important questions to the forum.
This is a pretty interesting re-cap from Christianity Today:

http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2008/aprilweb-only/116-12.0.html

For a full transcript of the event, go here:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/13/se.01.html

Now, let’s discuss what happened before I walked through the airport, I mean security checkpoint to enter the balcony of Brubaker Auditorium.

Some friends and I entered campus from the front entrance, greeted by DividedWeFail.org representatives, and Pro-Life people. (The kind who hold giant posters of dead fetuses, twice as tall as the 2 year old child walking around in front of it.) Once we got past them, I separated myself from my cell phone, and got in line. Soon, a cheer erupted from the students waiting in the “hope for a ticket” line. Was Willy Wonka here to shake hands with us in the cloudy dusk drizzle? No, it was only Kim Phipps as she hurried by with a kind wave. She had to get to her front row seat! (love her.)

All in all, it was truly a strange experience seeing CNN’s “election bus” outside. It was the first time I have ever been to any kind of political event, and I suppose I can say that it is not something I fell in love with.

There’s something I really love about being on Temple’s campus- fellow students who deeply care about current events and make strong efforts to raise awareness. Yesterday and today I was on my way to buy lunch and each time I was stopped by someone and asked if I was a registered Democrat in the state of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately I’m a registered Independent in the state of Connecticut, which does nothing for anyone.
The students were enthusiastic, kind, and endorsing Barack Obama. Other than the meager boys who stood around last semester mumbling things about Ron Paul saving America, these have been the only candidate endorsers I have seen thus far. Understandibly so…
Obama has come a long way since I was first introduced to his ideals two summers ago. At that time he was an enigmatic senator from Illinois, now he’s depicted as Christ on the front of the New Republic.
Regardless, I’m encouraged to see fellow students excited and tangibly participating in current affairs, even though the media has turned it into something I strongly abhor.
I suppose I will end there without ranting on and on about those devils- however, I have one more thing to say.
I’m sick of seeing the same person featured ALL OVER the Messiah College website on practically EVERY PAGE…
Over and out!
-Di