Kalika Valentine-Erickson/Winonan
Broken bottles litter the sidewalks around campus, stores have much longer lines and the hullabaloo of campus life and Winona State events is in full swing.
It is that time of the year for Winona residents. The time when college students venture to their home away from home, some for the first time and some for the last time.
No matter how long a student has made Winona their second home, it is just that—a home, even if just for a semester, or for their entire chapter of college life. Students become part of the community they inhabit, and therefore impact the community in which they reside—in both positive and negative ways.
College students have many positive contributions to the community of Winona, but bad contributions do occur as well. Many of the negatives happen due to alcohol and partying.
Winona resident Andrew Matteson lives near Main Campus and faces this negative impact firsthand.
“College is fun, I understand that, and I’m not about to tell college students to be perfect, but they do need to realize that their fun can have repercussions. I work hard to make my house a home,” said Matteson. “Having parties…that leave broken bottles smashed in my yard and the street is, frankly, annoying,”
Matteson gave the students advice and said, “Have fun, if you’re of age, but try to clean up after yourselves. It’s as simple as that.”
On the other hand, college students have many positive impacts on the community. A major contribution is through volunteering for various community organizations.
Match Support Specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Winona Katie Brazil said, “I would say that the majority of our volunteers are probably college-aged…September [and] October are one of our seasons where we get the most volunteers coming in. We generally lose them during the summer…but [there is] an increase when school starts.”
In the program, volunteers, called ‘Bigs,’ do activities and mentor younger children, called ‘Littles.’ The Bigs can either do community-based volunteering, where they take their Little to movies, rollerblading, or to the park. They can also do site-based volunteering, where they visit their Little in a school setting and do activities with them there.
“We can always say great things about our volunteers.The bonds that they’re making with these kids makes huge impacts,” Brazil says. “We really appreciate all the work that all of our Bigs do, but especially our college students.”
Volunteer Coordinator at Winona Volunteers services Chelsea Goldblatt said, “Around this time, we basically get flooded with new emails and new inquiries.”
Volunteers do various tasks at Winona Volunteer Services, including working at the Clothes Shop as cashiers, stockers, or in the back room sorting clothing. Goldblatt said that all revenue from the Clothes Shop goes directly towards the food shelf.
“They’re sorting the clothes…what items that we’re going to put out for sale that will help us generate the most revenue for the food shelf,” she said.
Volunteers can also do one-time events, like the “10 Days of Giving” or food drives. There is also a home-delivered meal program, similar to Meals on Wheels, which delivers daily meals to Winona residents in need.
Goldblatt urges people to volunteer if they are able, and says that new volunteers are always needed and welcomed.
Attending school and living in a community, even if it is only for the college years, has an impact on that community. That impact can be positive or negative—and that choice is yours.
