Welcome to Sophomore Service Project!!!

Welcome all you wonderful, talented, service-oriented Sophomores!Our team is extremely excited to announce all the members of the project, and welcome you to the incredible weekend that is to come. We know that most of you are going full-on with projects, papers and tests, so remember that this weekend is an excellent way to focus on that which is really important in this life: service to others.A few things we need to run through:Please let us know if any of the following applies to you:---are you under 18?---if so, please call OSD (8-1412) and ask for Dave, so that we can get your parent's permission for this weekend---do you have any dietary restrictions?---if so, please respond to this email, so that meals can be planned accordingly---decided that you can't make it?---if so, we understand and will miss you, but please let us know ASAP so that arrangments can be made to include others in this project (call 8-1412 and leave a message for Dave)Additionally, we wanted to make you aware of a few things:---Friday night dinner--- may be served rather late, depending on your service site. Our program will begin at 4pm in the AMU (more info will be sent later), but dinner may not be until 7-8pm. Please be aware. We are asking you to bring a snack to share, so hopefully, you can make it through to dinner.---Return on Saturday--- return is tenatively scheduled for around 8pm on the 22nd. If this is a problem for you, let us know, and we will do our best to accommodate.---Clothing--- please be prepared to wear ratty clothes for much of the weekend, but know that there is one site where you will be required to wear dressy black pants and a dressy white shirt. See if you can scrounge something up between now and next weekend.---Donation--- one of the sites is asking that we also bring some canned goods for a Thanksgiving meal it is putting on. If you can get your hands on anything for donating, be it a bag or a single can, it would be great.---Lastly--- For anyone who would like to sleep (who are we kidding?) you should bring your own sleeping bag, pillow and please, for the love of Pete, bring a toothbrush. (and any other neccessary toiletries)We will be sending out another email between now and next weekend, but if you have any questions give us a call or shoot us an email. We are SO stoked about this experience, and look forward to getting to know all of you.Sincerely,Your 2003 Planning Team,--Tom Sivak--Annmarie Hansen--Lori Brichler--Christian

start of an important relationship

Dear Christian,

My name is XXXXXXX and I’m a freshman here at Marquette. I read the article a few weeks ago in the Tribune that kind of told your life story and what it’s like to be gay. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since I read it, and decided I had to try and contact you. The reason being I’m gay. I’ve known it for as long as I can remember. But I can’t come out. My family, my friends, and especially my church keep my sexuality a secret.

I know they have clergy, counseling, and support groups available at Marquette, but I’m just not ready for that right now. What I’m asking for I guess, is someone to talk with about things I can’t seem to talk to anybody else about. And I think you might be able to help me do just that. If I’m asking too much, or you’re just not interested, that’s okay too. I know I’m not in this alone: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you,’ so we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.”

I think it goes without saying, but I also wanted to ask you not to tell anyone else about this just yet.

I am living this life that’s happy and normal, and let me be the first to say I’m as happy and normal as they come, but there’s a big part of my life that I’m not able to show anyone and it would mean the world to me if you want to help me out. I understand you’re a junior and probably an incredibly busy person, as I am, so I realize time is something you may not have a lot of, but I just thought if anyone here would know exactly what I’m going through, you would.

Please let me know what you think, and thanks in advance.
God Bless, XXXX

__________________________________________________________________

Hey there XXXX--

I would absolutely have no problem finding some time to talk to you whenever you want. I am actually pretty free the mornings of this week, but I also have a fairly open weekend. So just let me know when would work for you.

Please know that everything that you say or write will be kept in strictest confidence. I am not new to this sort of situation, so I understand just how precious privacy is. No worries there, okay?

Anyway, let me know when you would like to meet up, and I hope you have a wonderful week,

Christian