Respect South Orange as our home

When a tragedy happens in the community, it is the job of its members to help. This week, Emily Balan wrote a news article about a devasting fire that affected a family in South Orange. South Orange, whether we like to admit it all the time or not, is our home. It is the town we live in, our community. Whether you are originally from California, New York or Kentucky, for now, it is our duty to help this town. “Penny Wars” are being sponsored by residence halls on campus to raise money for the family who lost so much in this fire and everyone should donate even a few cents if they can. As long as we are attending Seton Hall, we are a part of the South Orange community. While this horrible tragedy is not something anyone would want to ever happen, it should, if for nothing else, bring us together as a community. It should open our eyes to the surrounding town that is our home. Maybe it is time to break down the gates, so to speak. While in no way is anyone advocating a student put him or herself in a dangerous situation, some have questioned whether the gates that lock us in are separating us from our South Orange community. Again, everyone should take proper safety precautions when leaving the gates, but it would not hurt students to involve themselves more in the “outside” community, even if it is just by being a good neighbor. Obviously one of the ways right now to be a good South Orange community member is to help out the family affected by the fire, but another way we can be good residents all year round is by getting to know the people of our town. If you are a student who lives off campus, say hello to your neighbors, shovel their driveways when it snows, ask them about their jobs, whatever. Let’s not just be the noisy college kids next door who our neighbors dread are coming back from summer vacation. Need a few extra dollars? Offer to babysit their kids instead of keeping them up all night on a Thursday when they have school the next day. Communities should always be based on respect. We never know when something horrible could happen to us and we would want someone to come to our aid if needed. Further than that, some day (way, way, way in the future) we will be those families annoyed by the college kids next door. Empathy goes a long way.