Differences swept away with annual raking effort
Tons of leaves swept up during 2006 Fall Sweep
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More than 125 SUNY Fredonia students got out of bed early a few weeks ago to do something nice for their neighbors on Temple Street and Central Avenue: rake their lawns.
The Annual Fall Sweep, now in its second year, experienced a big spike in student participation this year. A community relations event, it was founded by two student groups as a way for Fredonia students to give back to the community, and to offset typical "town/gown" problems between students and permanent residents. The Advanced Leadership Development Program class and the Applied Communication Association created the event in 2005.
Nick Juliano, a co-chair of the Fredonia Fall Sweep, said, “I think this event has the potential to possibly change how the community views college students."
Together the students fanned out into the streets closest to campus, and while raking lawns, they were hoping to spread a message. This year, the students raked lawns on Central Avenue, Temple Street, Maple Street, and at least four smaller side streets – an enormous increase from last year’s streets. Sponsors this year were the Student Association, Golden Key International Honour Society and the Athletic Department. The ACA hosted the event.
Student athletes set this year's record for bringing in the most volunteers: the women’s basketball team, the lacrosse team, and the track team all showed up.
The hours of hard work and sweat were followed by some social time back on campus, with students and their neighbors mingling together. More students stopped in to spark up the party: a capella groups Much More Chill and Premium Blend, sang some of their favorites. Village Mayor Frank Pagano and SUNY Fredonia President Dennis Hefner also attended.
“We surpassed our goal by having over 125 students representing over 12 student groups and we also had a variety of community members attend the mingle,” said Rachel King, co-chair of the event. “It was fantastic to see the community support the students in the same way that the students had just showed support to them."
For more information on the Fall Sweep, please contact Nick Juliano or Rachel King at FredoniaLeafRaking@gmail.com.
