Civic week encourages service

Volunteer UCF is hosting Civic Engagement Week, a five-day long event to remind students about the importance of being involved in their communities and give them opportunities to become civically active.

"The goal of Civic Engagement Week is to get students to be aware of and get involved in their local communities, whether it be a sorority or fraternity, organization, hometown or just on campus," said Naomi Parks, director of civic engagement for VUCF and a junior interdisciplinary studies major.

Parks said that registering to vote, doing community service and being aware of local and national government are all ways of being civically engaged.

"As American citizens, we have such a great opportunity to be involved in our governments and communities, and we should take advantage of that," she said.

Parks and VUCF have organized a week of activities that help teach students how to become active citizens and fulfill their social responsibilities both on campus and off.

On Monday, VUCF hosted a voter registration drive in front of the Student Union.

Parks said that seven students registered to vote during the drive's first hour.

Megan Miller, a sophomore hospitality management major and VUCF arts and recreation director, helped students sign up to vote at RocktheVote.com at the drive.

"I think it's a really great privilege to allow people to choose who's in charge of the future of our country," Miller said. "We're really just getting students aware. People have more control than they think."

Other activities included the "Find Your Passion" information session, which was hosted Tuesday by VUCF members who explained to attendees why they enjoy service and how to find the type of service best suited for them.  The "What is Civic Engagement?" meeting on Wednesday taught students how to become more involved on campus.

There will be a "Commit to Your Community" volunteer fair in the Student Union from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday. Ten local nonprofit organizations and other service-oriented student organizations will meet with students looking to become more active in service.

Junior aerospace engineering major Joshua Crawford will be attending the fair.

"I'm trying to get more involved in community service," Crawford said.  "I'm a Christian, and I think that since we're so blessed, it's part of our responsibility to give back."

Crawford said that he's hoping to find a service organization that he can volunteer at weekly, adding that he'd really like to tutor children.

Representatives from the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps will be on campus Friday for an information session on long-term service programs. The session will be from 11 a.m. to noon in the Student Union.

"Part of our creed is community, and oftentimes it is skipped over by students," SGA President Brian Peterson said. "It's important that UCF and the student body do their part and remember that we're a part of a greater community."