This is the final week of the SECC campaign, and I'd like to urge everyone who hasn't already contributed to the campaign to do so. Each unit in the university has a very hard-working SECC champion who's tried to come up with creative ideas for involving people, such as pizza sales, silent auctions, and reminder emails, and they have done all they can to engage people in this effort. (if you haven't checked the SECC website, you'll see that the beautiful wreath that hangs on the door of the Dean's office is still up for bid in the silent auction—it's beautifully made, and worth a good price!)

It's a given that most, if not all of us, already donate to a number of other charities, which may or may not be part of the group of organizations included in the SECC campaign. All we have to do is look around us, and we know that our help is urgently needed by so many, particularly in our own community. I understand that some people do not participate in the SECC because they feel coerced, and as such, on principle, they do not give to the campaign. The bottom line, however, is that the organizations represented in the SECC provide services to humans and animals that are critical to their well-being and survival and it seems to me that their needs are more important than any philosophical position we might take on the matter.

We've all experienced budget cuts in the college, and the lack of merit pay hasn't helped the situation…….that said, relative to so many others, we are fortunate. The budget cuts to these service providers, however, have been substantial, and those in these agencies who remain doing the hard works are there out of a genuine sense of social justice and the importance of the work they are doing—not just in words, but in action….they and those whom they serve need our encouragement and support….