UNM hosts lunch for schoolchildren (Video)

by Xochitl Campos

Daily Lobo

A group of elementary school students ate Thanksgiving lunch with members of ASUNM on Monday.

"We are going to talk about what Thanksgiving is all about," said Marian Vadiee, legislative coordinator for ASUNM. "And we are going to talk about what we are thankful for."

ASUNM invited children from Lew Wallace Elementary School to eat a Thanksgiving lunch, something that might not be available to them, Vadiee said.

The lunch was also held to teach children from low-income communities the importance of a college education, she said.

"Even though they're young, it's important to show them what higher education is," she said. "We wanted to bring a school that was mainly low-income families."

The student government worked with Peter White, dean of the University College, to bring the students to UNM for their lunch period.

"Dean White came up with this idea and gave it to ASUNM senators," Vadiee said.

She said she visited the school and interacted with the students before the event.

"This was the first year that we did it, and we wanted to start off with a small group of kids," Vadiee said. "Next year, we want to have more."

White said the event was a part of the UNM Hunger Initiative through the Research Service Learning Program.

"New Mexico has the highest percent of hungry people," he said. "There are more hungry people in New Mexico than in any other state."

White said that as an undergraduate, his college hosted children from low-income communities for a Thanksgiving meal.

"I never forgot the look on those kids' faces when they came through the college and had Thanksgiving," he said.

White said the meal was provided out of his discretionary budget from the Research Service Learning Program.

Joe Perez, a teacher from the school, said he wants the visit to UNM to make an impression on his students.

"Hopefully, they can talk to them about some habits that they should start developing," he said. "Organization, I think, is huge and starting to become responsible."

Vadiee said the event shows how ASUNM's work is not limited to campus.

"We don't only want to help UNM students," she said. "We want to reach out to the community."