Kudos to the four hundred plus volunteers who mulched, planted and labored as part of this year's Campus Beautification Day.
The barbecue and free stuff, including "Be Beautiful" shirts and giveaways from Nextel, certainly helped draw volunteers, but the early start time limited participation. Few students are willing to face the prospect of manual labor at 8 a.m. Organizers should start the event later in the day next year to increase turnout and get more students involved.
Furthermore, why is beautification day only once a year? Some of us noted the timing of Beautification Day - a few days before Freshman Preview Day, when many members of the prospective class of 2010 will form their opinions of AU.
Since AU is not a school that naturally rallies around its sports teams for a source of school spirit and pride (despite the many wonderful athletes and accomplishments at AU that deserve more attention than they traditionally receive), the AU community could use campus beautification as a unique source of school pride. Not to mention that it would be a great way to encourage fellowship in the gorgeous spring weather.
After all, putting some elbow grease into service here is key.
