“Money doesn’t grow on trees” is something you probably heard as you were growing up. Well that statement really sinks in when you are walking on Chancellors or in Hawks, and you see an organization asking for donations. As soon as you make eye contact with them, you just get sucked into listening to the spiel and it is easily one of the most awkward conversations you can have. By the end of the conversation, you have given them the money they were wanting and you become more poor than you already were. So how do we as students get past this awkward encounter?
There are many ways to encounter engagement with student organizations on campus. One way is by completely avoiding the people when they try to communicate with you. Students can do this by completely avoiding eye contact by looking at your phone, putting your headphones in, or turning your back to them. Do you really want to be one of these students?
ENGAGE with your fellow student body and help support their causes!
We should support our fellow colleagues for many reasons. One reason is that on campus we are a united community #wingsup. As students, we rely on other organizations to help support us and we should try to support them back. Every organization on campus engages with the community of Wilmington, which is considered civic engagement. The connections we could make with one another could help us in the future. We should take advantage of these opportunities to help our community as much as possible!
IMC Hawks Blog 
I love this post! Super insightful. Also love the Friends gif
I have to say that I am often one of the people with their headphones in, desperately trying not to make eye contact. Much like you all explained, it’s awkward, and I end up spending money I don’t have. However, you are probably right. We don’t always opportunities to give back and support our community directly, and when they come to you, it is worth listening and supporting…even if I have to skip my Starbucks for the day. Thanks for sharing!
I completely agree with everything you said! I think that it is so very important for us to engage as a student body. I know I am guilty of this as well but completely trying to avoid eye contact is an easy way out especially with technology at our fingertips. I agree we should step out of our comfort zone and encourage students to get involved and to give back. Yes we are all broke college students, but where do we really spend our money? Maybe if the student body started spending less money at the beach bars on the weekends and start giving back more to both UNCW and this community I think we can make not only UNCW, but Wilmington as a whole a thriving city!
The title caught my eye and once I started reading it I thought this would be an awesome article on how to avoid groups asking for donations without looking like a loser who doesn’t care. Anyway, after reading I kind of felt bad because the article was the opposite, but I liked it! It has a good point
You makes a really great point! We should want to engage with different organizations on campus and should not just avoid every informational booth we see on campus. Although when it comes to donations, sometimes the funds just aren’t there. In that case you could ask if there are any other ways you can get involved and help out. Avoiding definitely is not the answer. If nothing else, you learned about an organization you knew nothing about before!
Great post! The title is what drew me in. I’m a student org leader so I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of this avoided eye contact. I think it’s great that you’re drawing attention to the importance of what we’re doing when asking for these donations because sometimes we need all the support we can get! Obviously as college students we are all for the most part struggling financially, and those people asking for donations understand that.
This is so true! I can definitely relate to this, especially since there is always an organization on the corner of Leutze. I am in Leutze every day and I avoid I contact at all costs!
I really enjoyed this post. I have been on both sides of asking people for donations and giving/avoiding it. I grew up middle class and am very fortunate to have an amazing mom who always tries to give. Economy booms when people spend money and I feel that you have to give money to get some. I firmly believe what goes around comes around and not only are you donating to a good cause but you have a chance to go out of your shell and talk to someone new. The best part to this post to me is where eye contact is discussed. It seems rare that you truly make eye contact with people and continue to converse with them while making direct eye contact. It can be awkward but is necessary for personal interactions.
This article was actually really funny to me! As a member of an organization who tables on Chancellors, I know exactly what you mean when you’re talking about the awkward avoidance of eye contact and the speed walk past the table. Since I am not a very outgoing person, I tend to do the same thing when I’m on the other side of the table, but it’s something I really need to work on. As a member of the UNCW community, I understand how important it is that we’re all supporting each other. I think that sometimes people are just in a rush to get from place to place and think that by stopping for .2 seconds to hear about your cause and donate, they’ll be losing a huge chunk of their lives. This is something we can all work on as a community!
This was not what I was expecting when I decided to read the post but I was interested anyway. It is crazy how many people on campus ignore other people in groups or organizations trying to get students to participate in something. I am one of those people I can not lie, I try to get in and out of my classes and do not feel like talking to people most of the time. We need to be more open a supportive of our fellow students reaching out to us as well as just people in general.