ENMU students pitch in

PORTALES — More than 300 students from multiple Eastern New Mexico University organizations saw April Fools' Day as a chance to give back to Portales in a serious way.

Eastern in Action saw students dispersing across the city to pick up garbage, remove weeds and do anything else that community members needed.

At a house on Oklahoma Drive, members of the Christian student organization Wake, the ENMU Business Student Club and Delta Mu Delta (the honors society for the ENMU College of Business) removed weeds and trimmed bushes while having fun.

Business major Manuel Perez, a member of the BSC, decided to participate out of a desire to give back to the community.

"They (Portales) do so much for the university, like support us in any way they can, so it's important to me to always remember the community," he said.

As a native of Portales, accounting major and president of Delta Mu Delta, Jose Mendoza felt it is imperative to help residents in any way possible.

"I'm from the area, so it's really nice to help out these people that may not be able to do some of the things themselves," he said.

Criminal justice major Bianca Nunez, a member of Wake, noted that community service is a prime example of Christian love.

"I guess you can say, being Christian, you're always taught to help others. We do ministry all the time, and an essential part of being a Christian is giving back to others and showing others love through Christ," said Nunez.

Many of the university students also joined together with other groups for the city of Portales' annual Great American Clean Up to pick up trash around town.

Portales Deputy Clerk Veda Urioste said despite the hindrance of the weather, the city's event drew in 70 to 80 volunteers on top of the Eastern in Action students.

She said along with Eastern students, an Eastern New Mexico Taekwondo class joined in, as well as Kiwanis club members, an ENMU health society and a local bank.

Urioste said she will not know the total number of bags collected by each group until Monday.

"I really appreciate that many showing up despite the weather. I'd say we cleaned up the community pretty good. I'd call it a success," said Urioste, adding that volunteers also painted bleachers and tables at local parks. "I think it was great. I got there at 8 (a.m.), and there was a large group already there from Eastern in Action."

Some ENMU faculty decided to join the students in the name of giving back, including Corey Cole, who teaches information systems and finance.

"Stuff like this is great. This is a pretty older community. They're not able to do a lot of stuff, so I think having some of these young people out here getting this stuff done for them really helps them out."

Cole said the university relies on the community as its primary means of support, making events like Eastern in Action essential.

"The school is only as strong as the community, and so, the more we can give back, the more I think we can all work together and succeed at our goals that we want to do," he said.

— Portales Managing Editor Alisa Boswell contributed to this report.