Compass to Campus

T-shirts cost $1.50 when made with Nicaraguan sweatshop labor and is much more durable (and more difficult to lose) than a pencil. It's all good.

Also, it wasn't necessarily paid for with WWU money. Maybe the elementary schools paid for the t-shirts with their budge. Dunno.

 You try keeping track of 5th graders in a huge crowd without T-shirts!! Notice the bright colors? It's so we don't lose anyone. 

I doubt if the elementary schools paid for them, especially since the WWu people involved (students and others) all wore them as well.  Any way to save money is good....It's not that I totally disagree with giving out the shirts, but in healthy economic times it's a no-brainer.  In these times, money saving measures need to be taken.  Use it a little more wisely.

The money didn't come from WWU funds. It was from donations of people who believe in the program and community donors. So before you trash talk our methods, get the facts straight

Compass 2 Campus was funded by a grant and private donations if I recall, so it wasn't Western's money that was used.

Also, if you don't have something to identify the kids by (ie. bright shirts) then what happens if someone loses one?

Oh, so you'd be confused that all of the four feet tall people are college students...

Used to be that my school would take us somewhere and we'd have to wear name tags or have a piece of paper taped to our backs like the runners in marathon races...

Hahahaha, are you actually trying to argue that keeping track of children via brightly colored shirts (funded by donation) is a bad idea?

I wasn't trash talking anybody's methods so don't get so defensive.  I was just merely stating that it does cost money.  We live in a society where everyone wants to buy, buy, buy.  The money could have been spent a little more wisely is all that I was stating, especially in the economy that we are living in.  Maybe some of you don't realize just how bad it is out in the real world? 

Nope, I wasn't arguing a thing..

If the tshirts were funded by donation, it means that people had the money to donate. It wasn't taken from some other needy organization, or the school, or anything like that. Making an argument about the failing economy is one thing, picking a fight over tshirts designed to keep little kids safe on a field trip is entirely another.

Gee, I thought the reason that so many WWU students were needed for this was to help keep the kids organized.  Now what do you mean that they have to be kept safe?  What do you define as "safe".  It looked like there was plenty of supervision to me. 

Geeze, you people are really going the wrong direction with this.  So what if people donated money, it could have been used for the program....

Our society is too fixated on material things. 

[quote=dermonm]

 picking a fight

I wasn't picking a fight.  If you read my statements, you would realize that statements is all they are.  I wasn't the hostile one either.  I stated an opinion.  Is it still okay to voice one's opinion?

I was responding to this quote, which seems pretty argumentative to me, but "picking a fight" was just a turn of phrase. I still disagree with the assertion that spending donated money on shirts that serve to keep kids safe and allow them to have a fun experience is a bad idea.

And the idea of "safe" is to keep track of them. Kids wander away, it's a big campus, and the supervisors were responsible for looking after them. Hence the neon yellow. It's a pretty simple idea.

No, a big campus is UW...How many kids were there per student looking out for them?  Not that it matters because, as I said, I was just voicing my opinion.  When everyone involved gets a shirt, it involves a bunch of money. 

In our society, money =material things...

Money which was, as has been stated repeatedly, donated explicitly for that program. Your point that the money could've gone to something else doesn't do anything for your argument; if it weren't shirts, that very same money would just by buying other material things for other programs.

I still don't understand what's bad about making small children easily identifiable during a field trip to a big campus with huge crowds and woods surrounding it. Sounds like a good idea to me.

The donated money was, and is, being used for the program. The t-shirts are part of the program. The field trip to our campus and the tour that was put on, are all part of the program. The point of the program is to get the kids focused on and excited about graduating from high school and receiving upper-level education once they are out of highschool, be it technical school, community college, or a 4-year university.

"Keeping them safe" doesn't only mean keeping them out of harm and danger, but also keeping them in their assigned groups so that they would be accounted for and on the correct bus back to their schools. There were kids from 10 elementary schools, which means there was at least 1 bus per school, (but in most cases there were 2 busses per school). I had 4 mentors and 6 kids in my group and it was difficult enough keeping everyone together and accounted for in the large crowds and near the busses.

Have you ever taken an econ class? The way to get the economy running again is to spend money. If you save all of your money and don't spend any, businesses go, well... out of business. That's why we're in this economic pit in the first place. Because idiots try to tell people to stop spending money and save it all up!... It's called a cycle. You spend money=you give businesses funding=more money for them to hire people. Don't spend money=businesses lack funding=less jobs=less money to spend........

how do you know how much money it cost? how do you know it costed any?

interesting way to preach your belief about a materialistic society by questioning the t-shirts for a day that no where near focused on the "material" t-shirts.  wake up and apreciated the program for what it is, what it brings into our school systems, and how it changes kids lives for the better.

I'll hand back my t-shirt to the school if that makes you feel better.

Okay, so we're not talking Compass to Campus anymore, we're talking captalism.  You will get the same argument from me about that, too.  People are too hung up on material things.  Uhm, so you're saying the stimulus money that some people received was a good thing?

No, that isn't why we're in this economic pit.  People have been and are still buying crap.  We're in this because of the banks and the mortgage companies...( deregulation is why we're in this crunch) Do your research before stating such useless capitalistic crap.

In my opinion, the t-shirts were a part of the experience that was necessary. Since people were willing to donate to provide those t-shirts, this really is a non-issue.

I had the opportunity to observe the entire day of event. Since I was not a mentor (I was the summer intern for the program), I was not in charge of any of the students. One thing that I noticed was that the kids were very excited to interact with others via signing of the shirts. It got them to not only branch out and meet more staff, but interact with students from the surrounding districts. Without those shirts, it would have been less successful (in my opinion of course).

 I believe that we need to first decide wether or not purchasing  t-shirts for an educational program such as the Compass to Campus supports our nations affluenza disease.

Kelly's opinion states that the t-shirts were not needed, therefore the money funded for the t-shirts could have been used in a more responsible and practical matter, concluding that it would not require a lot of effort, nor would it be difficult, to keep track of 800 children who are unfamiliar to the area.

The argument then, is that the t-shirts were needed, and therefore the money funded for the t-shirts was a responsible and practical matter, concluding that they provided a useful service towards keeping track of 800 children in far from enclosed, unfamiliar space that is already extremely crowded during peak hours.

it is true that the reason why most, if not all camps (especially ones that involve field trips or a massive amount of children) have their enrolled children wear the same, brightly colored garment, is to distinguish them from everyone else so that if by chance someone becomes lost, they can be found quickly, and efficiently. This statement is of course an opinion and not fact, but it is a highly supportive opinion that has substantial results. I do believe it is best way to keep track of a large amount of people, since it does cover the majority of one's body.

Kelly I do support your effort to spread awareness about materialism and that fact that yes, our country, the pioneer of consumerism, has a problem. Unfortunately, you have picked a topic that with a weak supportive argument. When trying to express your concerns about production and capitalism, I would fully and enthusiastically suggest seeking a direction towards stating your opinion about the industries and and corporations that seem to actually run our countries economy. 

looking at an economic perspective, the effects of purchasing 800 t-shirts (or more) one time is close to none. Even if this an event put together every year, the effects would not increase. The argument against this is that,  yes, this single act is not effective, but what about all the similar acts across our entire nation put together. Well, yes you would of course get the summation of the entire amount of material consumed by non-profit organizations, and you still would not see high enough numbers. 

when concerning yourself with ideas about consumerism and materialism, it is important to apply all the factors so that you may understand the truth about the situation, and also prevent the presentation of harmful or offensive statements. The point of these threads is not to tell someone that they are wrong, but to collaborate together in finding a common goal.

Can't believe this turned into an actual arguement.

Stupid argument.

/thread

Woooow, a little snippity today aren't we?  You are both right. about the reasons we are in a recession.  Can we move on to a less dumb thread?

You are getting way too into this considering how many other things we waste money on. We waste money on a ton of things in our daily lives, I wouldn't get too worked up over some t-shirts. And most camps use brightly colored shirts to identify everyone. It's a safety precaution, it works and it helps make the people who are taking care of the kids less anxious about keeping track of them. If you've ever worked at a camp with kids, you would know what it's like to have to keep track of them.

It is pathetic that this is an arguement... It is a privately funded event to try and benefit small children. If anything those shirts costed far less than any of the other various expenses involved, seeing as they may have been donated or even given a discount because they were for children. Should really know the specifics before you get into an arguement like this.

hahahaha, i opened this because i thought it was going to be a positive discussion (for once) about an amazing thing.  i think campus 2 campus is a fantastic program and i think the tshirts were a great idea and huge part of it.  i bet some of those kids will have those shirts until they actually make it to college.  i know i still have shirts from when i was even younger than 5th grade, from different camps and programs i belonged to. 

i wish i could have been involved somehow. 

So I'm appalled that this is really being argued about for a few reasons, first Kelly, are you in the Compass to Campus program(probably not if you brought this up because you would understand why it was done in the first place)! Second, just how exactly do you expect to keep track of 800 5th graders with a pencil?!? A pencil really? You probably said that because you once again aren't in the program and don't understand why the t-shirts were necessary. I, being in the compass to campus program understand perfectly! I had 5...only 5 kids to watch with 3 other mentors...basically a one to one ratio...but it was not easy at all...and I can't even begin to think how hard it would of been with out the neon green t-shirts. This is why, I had a couple of girls who were really excited and liked to rush and walk ahead(not knowing where they were going) and then I had a couple of boys who liked to drag their feet stop and do 360's, tie their shoe...etc... so say I was walking and the boy didn't tell me he had to tie his shoe and now I have to look for him(super easy if he's wearing a neon green t-shirt) not so easy if he would of been in street clothes bent down in between hundreds of college students! DUH! So next time Kelly your responsible for 800 kids and you want to give them a pencil to keep track of them....maybe just maybe you should rethink that one! Last but not least posting this on the forum was the worst thing you could of done because what are we going to do, go to all 800 5th graders ask for their t-shirts back and send them back....what's done is done. IF you really wanted to try and come up with a better solution you instead of posting your rant on the forum you would of met with Cyndie Shepard( who did a great job of planning this event) and discussed this with her because she is the person who would change this...not any of us!

HAVE A GREAT DAY! 

 I think that the shirts were a great way to keep track of the 800 students. Also, these children are from Title One schools. Meaning they come from a very low income communities and these shirts gave them one more thing to wear. I know that at the school I mentor for they many times not only wash some of the children's clothes but try their best to provide the really needy kids with new clothes! I know they were very stoked to have a new article of clothing :) 

if you want to get involved with compass 2 campuss it's really easy. you just have to sign up for any of the four sections of EDUC 297A for your first time... it's a short three week class, then you go out to the 5th grade classrooms for the rest of the quarter! after you take EDUC 297A you can take EDUC 297B which is a continuation. you don';t have to be an education major or anything to do it either, i'm a cell biology major! 

Ditto. The original post is a very poorly directed argument, IMO.

Also, if you want to get involved, as someone stated, you can sign up for the class, or if you have too many credits in your schedule, you can just show up to the class the first day, talk to Cyndie afterwards, and volunteer without receiving credit (that's what I did!).

I don't understand why people need to always criticize everything...this program is so amazing and all you can do is find a negative. Giving these kids t-shirts allowed them to feel special and have their new friends and mentors sign their shirts to remember them by. They felt apart of something and they loved their shirts. You really think that giving them a pencil will do anything for their self esteem or encourage them to do something great with their lives? Hey here's a pencil wooo!

I concur.  I fail to see how giving children shirts to commemorate a possibly once in a lifetime event for them is a misuse or overexpenditure of school resources.  Regarding the pencil idea...pencils get lost as well, especially when one is moving around like an energetic 5th grader.  At least with the shirt, they were given something that made them easier to keep track of and they got something to take home and use for a while.  Trying to catch them to get the shirts back would be like Gargamel's futile quest to capture the smurfs.  Let them have their moment and make the most of yours. 

I have one thing to say, South Park: Margaritaville (Season 13, episode 3)

I figured it was so we could easily distinguish between the little kids from the teeny jailbate tween freshman that are seen around campus.

i swear every year the freshmen look younger and younger.

Oh, my God, you can't be serious.

Let me start off by saying that shirts bought in bulk like that don't cost that much money.  The more you buy, the cheaper the production cost.  It's that simple.  There's also the fact that Western didn't pay for these shirts, so it in no way came from your tuition or taxes at all. For all we know, a company could have donated all the shirts to the program.  This makes me wonder why you actually care.

Also, little kids are EASY to lose track of, especially in large groups like that.  It could seem like you've got everyone, but all of the sudden, POOF!  Little Johnny is gone.  Do you even understand how much easier it is to find him when he's wearing a brightly-colored shirt that's the same as everyone else's?

And keeping track of all the children IS a safety issue.  Kids can easily hurt themselves by doing silly things.  I'm sure you've done it yourself.  I know I did.  Not only that, there are people in the world who wouldn't hesitate to pick up a small child and take him away.  I'm not saying that they all center here on campus, but it does happen.

Finally, you said it yourself.  A tee shirt is cool.  I'm sure all the kids would like something a little more substantial than a pencil to remember the visit with.  A tee shirt will not only last longer, but it can be made into something else (like a pillow, my cousin has tons) once it's too small.

I'm not entirely sure you understand how much a trip like this means to children that age.  It's important that they not only have a good time, but that they also feel 100% safe and well-treated.  This means that the tee shirts are an absolute necessity for this kind of trip.

I'm sure we could legitimately talk about the amount of money Western wastes though.  For example:  I get paid from the school to sit at a desk in front of the dorm and do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!  There are about 40 of us all working different desks in front of the dorms. Great job, but terrible waste of money on the school's part