Cancelled NYSP camp destroys hope
One of the saddest things to happen to Georgia Highlands College is not going to affect the students here or even the faculty, but the countless number of children who would have spent their summer at the National Youth Sports Program camp.
The program was shut down after 33 years on the Floyd Campus because of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services budget cut. That money will now be focused on the war effort and helping the victims of the Katrina disaster.
The summer program was designed to keep kids off the streets and to put them in a positive environment where they could learn about health, sport and good life choices.
The children that attended the camp were students who typically were not well off financially; they were students who were on reduced/free lunch programs at their schools during the year.
The program was completely free to eligible children and also provided jobs for college students and volunteers.
For a lot of these children, ages 10 to 16, it was the first time they were exposed to a college campus. They got to experience what college was like during the summer semester, and interacted with college students on the campus. It gave them a positive outlook for the future, which brought them hope. Many of the former campers even came to GHC to further their education, showing the effect NYSP had on them.
This budget cut is a shame. This is our youth we�re talking about here. This program was a positive thing for communities around the nation. One can only imagine how this cut and the other 206 NYSP programs that were cut will affect Americans.
Hopefully, the Federal government can reinstate the program. Otherwise what will become of our youth? Will we let them live on the streets? Do we want them to end up in jails or hooked on drugs and alcohol? How is it possible that America would rather be at war than save our children?
It�s just heartbreaking that this summer the campus won�t echo with the laughter of children.
In the silence, let us think of how this cut has affected our future.
The only resolution to the problem is to write our congressmen and senators and bring back NYSP. We have to get our youth back into healthy programs and off the streets if we want to continue being a successful nation.
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