Think back to late September of your freshman year. Did you know how to reserve space on campus? Book events? Get corporate sponsors? Though the answer for most Jumbos is probably "no way," two freshmen can respond, "Yes - and a whole lot more."
Diego Chacon and Katy Simon are the two freshmen co-chairs of Kicks for a Cause, PANGEA's kickball tournament designed to raise awareness about various global issues this Saturday.
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Tufts students can come participate in a kickball tournament on the Fletcher Field - an event entirely organized by freshmen.
"We wanted to give [freshmen] a way to plan their own events right from the very start and make sure they didn't get lost in the rest of the committee work that we do at PANGEA," said senior Michael Eddy, a co-chair of PANGEA. "We usually have a very large incoming freshman class that's excited and eager to become involved in PANGEA."
Eddy explained that the Kicks for a Cause event allowed freshmen to work together before joining the different committees that compose PANGEA.
"It really involved the cooperation of a broad subset of the freshmen who were interested in PANGEA," he said. "Even people who didn't have a title took an active lead in this project."
From deciding on the nature of the event itself to planning the tiniest detail, freshmen did it all.
"We started talking; as a group we ... came up with an event that was sports-related and would be a lot of fun," Chacon said. "From there we picked the co-chairs and the PR people."
Chacon said organizing Kicks for a Cause has been a learning experience for all involved.
"It was rough, just because we don't have that much experience here on campus, so we're not too familiar with how to go out reserving space," he said. "I seriously bounced from one contact to another to the next.
"I think if someone were to tell me to do another event, I could probably do it in half the time spent on this one," he continued.
Simon voiced a similar opinion.
"It's hard being a freshman and getting used to the customs of the school. For the rest of the year, I'll know what I need to get stuff done," she said.
Kicks for a Cause is no small kickball game.
"We have eight teams, and we're supporting the awareness and trying to raise awareness for four different causes," Simon said.
The first of those four causes is Kiva, a microfinance organization that gives loans with low interest rates to entrepreneurs in developing countries as a way to energize local economies. Chacon explained that if and when the loans are repaid to PANGEA, the money will be reused for more loans, creating a cycle of what he called a "perpetual loan."
Also benefiting on Saturday will be: Think Outside the Bottle, a group dedicated to raising awareness about clean water and lowering the use of bottled water; Keep a Child Alive, a foundation dedicated to responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa that is trying to start a chapter at Tufts; and the Central Asia Institute, which helps fund educational efforts in Central Asia.
"All their donations go directly to the schools, infrastructures, paying the teachers," Chacon said.
"Whichever [cause's] team wins ... the majority of our money will go to that cause, and the rest of the money will go to the other three causes," Simon said.
Money for the event will be raised by a $1 cover charge for the tournament, as well as a bake sale, the possible sale of pizza and a T-shirt station.
"We have a shirt-making station - you can spray-paint stencils onto a shirt," Chacon said.
Each of the four causes, as well as Oxfam, will have a booth at the event.
"The kickball tournament is kind of a centerpiece so people can come watch and support their friends," Simon said. "We'll probably open up more games ... there'll be an open kickball field."
Those who are not already on a team for Saturday are encouraged to come and play the open kickball game, Simon said, explaining that they do not have specific numbers in mind for attendance on Saturday.
"As long as all the resources are distributed, then I think we're fine," Chacon said. "Our main goal is to raise awareness; raising funds is secondary."
In order to raise awareness for the event, the freshmen have employed many tactics: Tuftslife.com, posters and word-of-mouth, for example. But college PR is still college PR.
"We even have a [Facebook.com] page for it," Chacon said.
