University of Akron - Tel Buch Yearbook (Akron, OH)

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Duane Kinney A distinct difference exists between people active in politics and those that are not. The active participants make a difference. ' Not because they wished it, but because they willed it.” Robert Paduchik, Viet-President A SC i i i i i ! i I I i 29

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ting The Campaign Trail Students participate in supporting local and campus politics Political activism, once a thing of the past on college campuses, is resurfacing across the country and here at the University. Akron students are expressing this interest in a variety of ways, from joining political clubs to actively campaigning for political candidates. The University has responded to the needs of the students by adding a certification program in applied politics. The program is for students of any major with a desire to apply the theories and practices of political science to real life. Courses are offered in such subjects as campaign management and finance. A scholarship program has been established by the Ray Bliss Foundation for students seeking this certification. Ray Bliss was a longtime Akron politician who served as Republican National Committee chairman and also as a member of the University of Akron Board of Trustees. He believed that once students realized how much fun politics could be, they would become more involved. To this end, the Institute sponsored the 1988 Leadership Roundtable, at which the Ohio representatives of all the presidential candidates discussed politics and the Ohio primary. An outgrowth of the Institute is the Politics Club. Co¬ founded by senior political science major Bob Paduchik, the club has thirty members, and serves as a focus for discussion of political activity on and off campus. It is open to students of all majors and political orientations. Paduchik has been involved in several campaigns, most recently Summit County Prosecutor Lynn Dr. Green, associate professor of political science, encourages his students to get involved in area campaigns. Slaby’s congressional campaign. Paduchik sees volunteer work as a good way to make valuable contacts and get experience. Internships and other job opportunities in political campaigns or administrations are another benefit, but to get these, says Paduchik, “You have to show initiative, you have to show that you’re willing to work hard to accomplish something.” Hard work paid off for Joel Bailey, who graduated from Akron in 1986 with a master’s degree in political science. He is now communications director for Congressman Tom Sawyer, but started off as an education major volunteering on John Glenn’s 1984 presidential campaign. “It doesn’t matter what degree you get. I encourage students of all majors to get involved in politics,” said Bailey. According to Bailey, Akron students show a lot of interest in politics, but Paul Weirtz, another Akron graduate working on Sawyers’s staff, sees it differently. “I don’t feel college students are involved enough,” said Weirtz. “All political decisions affect us, and students need to know more in order to have an impact.” •I 28 Student Life

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ding A Labor Of Love Habitat for Humanity gives hope to the homeless Getting up early on a Saturday morning in order to scrape paint and put up dry wall, is not a thought most students would relish. But for members of Habitat for Humanity, volunteering to help the homeless is as much a labor of love as a lifting of the spirit. Habitat is an international Christian Housing ministry which renovates and builds homes for needy people, for people less fortunate than themselves. Although the University of Akron does not yet have a campus chapter, Dr. Henry Cone, associate professor of education and President of the Akron Affiliate of Habitat, is hoping to found one in the near future. “As of yet, the only campus chapter is at Baylor University in Texas, but I know of a number of students here who are interested in being a part of our program. About a dozen students from the University are involved in the Akron Affiliate, and they help out on a regular basis,” Cone says. One such student is Ray Herbst, a senior majoring in secondary education. Coordinating a group of high school volunteers, Ray and his group do everything from scraping paint to hauling debris and putting up drywall. Ray sacrifices his Saturdays to ensure that the house at 698 Wall St. was ready for Brian Oakes and his family to move into by late spring. “Habitat is a worthwhile program, and I like the feeling I get from knowing I helped someone and made a difference,” says Ray. Officially approved as an affiliate in March 1987, the Akron chapter has already purchased five houses. With the help of some University students and local volunteers, one family was able to move into their house on Silvan Avenue at Thanksgiving 1987, and two more families will be able to move into their houses in late spring. The recent purchase of two more houses on Madison Avenue means more work will need to be done, but it also means that two more Akron area families will soon have a place to live. Saturday is a rest day, and leisure time is especially important to college students, but the difference that a few hours of volunteer work could make just might be worth the sacrifice. Learning the techniques of carpentry and applying them to this partially built staircase is Mike Rohr. The house that love built, located at 698 Wall Street, will soon be the home of the Brian Oakes family. The house is one of five in which Habitat for Humanity is lending a helping hand. 30 Student Life