By Kiara Catanzaro
Staff Writer
With Halloween approaching, SBU for Life developed a creative and festive way to bring awareness to world hunger with their SBU for Life Zombie Walk for Hunger. Today at 3:15 p.m., the group is dressing up as zombies and marching across campus to bring attention and provide information on the issue of global hunger.
SBU for Life, a campus organization dedicated to respecting the value of life, meets weekly to plan events related to life issues. The group also hosts a monthly discussion on topics pertaining to human life, including abortion, abuse, suicide, euthanasia and hunger. Their goal is to create a culture that respects and protects life in every aspect of its being, according to Kevin Cooley, club president.
“Another purpose of the walk is to dispel negative stereotypes about the general attitude of people who align themselves with the pro-life movement,” said Cooley, a junior English and sociology major. “SBU for Life isn’t about one issue in particular, but about developing a culture of life — full bellies everywhere are an important part of that culture.”
Even though the event is presented in a light manner, the message behind the walk is more serious.
“Though it is a fun activity by its nature, we’re marching under the slogan ‘Everyone Deserves a Chance to Eat’ for a reason,” Cooley said. “The primary cause is to remind students on campus that a square meal is a privilege not everyone has.”
To promote just how privileged students are to have meals provided, SBU for Life and other students will dress as zombies and lurch around the campus searching for morsels to eat. This will be their response to the dangerous fate of those who are not capable of having nutritious meals on a daily basis.
“I think it’s a great idea considering Halloween is right around the corner,” said Sabine Wakim, a freshman international studies major. “Not to mention, with the new season of Walking Dead premiering, students are scared of zombies already; so they will have no choice but to hand over their money while we are marching around campus.”
Other students on campus are excited to be a part of an exciting event that will benefit a charitable cause.
“I’m glad that I can be a part of a charitable event that will also tie into Halloween festivities,” Sierra Nutt, a freshman physics major said. “It’ll be great to see how students on campus react towards the Zombie Walk.”
All donations collected during the Zombie Walk will be donated to The Warming House, which will be used to buy food for those who struggle with hunger.
With a large group of zombies parading around campus in hopes of receiving donations and promoting awareness for this issue, SBU for Life is more than ready to make this event a success that will ultimately benefit others.
“If dressing up as zombies for a laugh or a scare helps us reach out to the community for that cause, I’m more than willing to whip up a batch of fake blood and get into character,” Cooley said.
