From: David Scott
Submit: Post Message
Date: 20 Nov 1996
Time: 05:40:13
Christie wrote:
"[We undergraduates] know very little about what exactly Barrios Unidos IS and what it DOES. ... Small, grassroots, service organizations such as BU are most times understaffed, underfunded, and they experience frequent turn over in workers & volunteers; BUT their EFFORTS and IDEALS are good. There is a lot of hard work being done at BU. Of course some of their projects won't run as smooth or refined as one you might find in a big Corporation, or in something solely run by the University (like the computer labs). "
I agree with you, Christie, that we don't know enough about the internal workings of the organization. I admit that I was being a bit harsh and inflammatory towards the BU organizers in my previous post. The reason why I am so upset is that I think BU has a wonderful potential for being a very valuable resource in our community. But the fact that we have witnessed many, many problems in just our limited experience working there makes me scared to think about what goes on in the rest of the organization. It is true that they do not have much money or other resources to utilize, but that is all the more reason why they should work efficiently with what they do have, mainly the volunteer hours of the intelligent and eager students in our class. Our time has been wasted, and that has frustrated all of us.
Dave
"My parents keep asking how school was. It's like saying, 'How was that drive by shooting?' You don't care how it _was_, you're lucky to get out alive."