By Lauren Seynhaeve
On Monday, Feb. 8, the ASUP Senate passed a resolution, which requires senators to do community service one day per semester.
Resolution 10-01 is in honor of Molly Hightower, the 2009 UP alumna killed in last month's earthquake in Haiti. Upon graduating, Hightower went to Haiti to work with disabled orphans.
"Molly wasn't just working with the average orphan, she was working with disabled orphans, and I think that's a real reflection of the kind of person she was," said Allison Able, a 2009 UP graduate who was friends with Hightower.
"She would go out of her way to give a child a hug, and the child's eyes would just light up when she entered the room," Able said.
Under the resolution, which is effective immediately, each senator will commit one day of service per semester in honor of Hightower and to fulfill the mission of UP.
ASUP senators want to honor her memory and her commitment to service with this resolution.
"I like to think it (the resolution) will set an example of what we're trying to do as student leaders," ASUP Awareness Committee Chair Katie Scally, a junior, said. "Molly was a great example of it - let's not just talk about it, let's do this."
Senior Alyssa Schmidt-Carr, ASUP vice-president, supported the resolution.
"It's there as another way to give back to the community and as another way to make constituencies in the community," she said.
Last year, 2009 graduate Paige Bruggen instituted a day of service for ASUP, and several senators picked up trash around the campus neighborhood on a Sunday morning.
The resolution for the senators' service requirement this year is a formalization of that effort, with the addition of the tribute to Hightower to help inspire people.
Resolution 10-01 states that it hopes "to celebrate Molly Hightower's commitment to service and motivate future senators to follow her commitment."
As expressed in its mission statement, the University of Portland aims to provide service to the community, and this resolution is one way in which the senators are trying to fulfill that mandate.
Students who are not ASUP senators are encouraged to participate in service days with senators. This resolution is only one of many ways in which UP students are trying to honor Hightower and preserve the University's mandate of service.
"I think this is a great idea," Scally said. "I think it would be even better if we can get people who aren't senators to come along and help."
According to Schmidt-Carr, several senators have started Facebook groups and new service-oriented Web sites on Pilots UP. Students who wish to participate in the days of service should look online at the various sites or talk directly to a senator.
