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Monday, July 7, 2025

From Farmville to Flint

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On Feb. 12, BSA partnered with the Environmental Club and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to collect water for the residents of Flint, Mi. in response to their ongoing crisis.

As the flurries fell on Friday, Feb. 12, members of Longwood's Black Student Association (BSA), Environmental Club and Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. shivered at a table in front of the Chi Fountain with signs promoting their water drive in response to the crisis occurring in Flint, Michigan.

"It was freezing, it was snowing. I still have frost bite," laughed Deja Mills, vice president of BSA, as she recounted the experience.

Even with the weather conditions, both Mills and BSA President Quincy Goodine were pleasantly surprised with the amount of water and monetary donations the group received from both students and faculty. The exact volume of water had yet to be calculated, while the money totaled nearly $160.

Longwood water drive for Flint, Mi.

The pile of water donated through the Black Student Association, Environmental Club and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.'s drive to send to Flint, Michigan.

"When they (students) were like, 'I don't have any money, but I'm going to use my bonus dollars and go downstairs and get you a pack of Dasani, and I'll be right back.' That was really something that really stood out to me," said Mills.

Goodine added, "Honestly, just the amount of faculty and staff buying in to what we were doing really surprised me. I wasn't really sure what to expect when we started doing this."

All water and money collected will be sent to the residents of Flint as the work to resolve the contaminated water issue continues.

Longwood water drive for Flint, Mi.

The three groups sat outside in front of the Chi Fountain on Friday, Feb. 12 to ask for donations. Some students went into the Student Union to donate bottles of water from the Lancer Cafe.

The Flint Water Crisis – A Summary

Flint, Mi., a little over an hour northwest of Detroit, is a majority black city with a population of 102,000, where 56 percent of the residents identify as African-American.

On Oct. 1, 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency as multiple studies confirmed high levels of lead and corrosive elements in the tap water, urging residents to stop drinking the water.

Example of the water from Flint, Mi.

The photo from Associated Press photographer Jake May compares a sample of Flint's water to that of Detroit's, a city just over an hour southeast of Flint.

The issues began when the city started supplying their residents with water from the Flint River to save money in April of 2014 while waiting for a water supply from Lake Huron to become available. A pipeline was being constructed to allow the use.

Since then, after multiple inquiries and complaints from residents regarding the water quality, the water advisories piled up, beginning with a boiled-water advisory after traces of E. Coli were found in August of 2014 to the confirmation of the lead seepage resulting from the water's corrosive properties in September of 2015.

A class-action civil rights lawsuit was filed by the residents against a list of defendants in November of 2015, including the governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, city of Flint and state of Michigan.

Right now, the state of Michigan is still working to provide support for health ramifications and conduct studies on the state of the pipes. According to Snyder, there is not a time frame for when Flint's issues will be fixed.

BSA Brings the Cause to Longwood

The idea of a water drive began in a conversation between Goodine and Courtney Jones-Addison, the associate director for Diversity and Inclusion, as their talk regarding BSA's budget strayed to the organization's next cause to take up on campus.

"What happened there was devastating, and I think that BSA stepped up like true citizen leaders and acted promptly to show their support, raise awareness and assist the people of Flint during their time of need," said Jones-Addison.

All the organizations involved felt it was important to create awareness for national issues within the community.

Alton Coleman, a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., felt their involvement showed their education on the current events and issues.

"The role that the fraternity has played in assisting the community has been a vital one as brothers want to make a positive impact everywhere they go, even if it means using their own resources to help those less fortunate than themselves," said Coleman.

From both a nature and human rights perspective, Alex Lee, the Environmental Club's fundraising chair and contact with BSA, said they were "more than happy" to partner with BSA, especially since the cause "affects both groups in such different ways."

"Of course we were concerned with the environmental impacts, but studying the environment has a lot more to do with social justice issues than one may think," said Lee.

For BSA, this wasn't the first time they showed support for a national issue. Last semester, they coordinated a blackout at a men's basketball game to show solidarity after racial issues came to light at Missouri State University. Their actions support the organization's motto to advocate, connect, support and educate, according to Goodine.

"We educate people on the issues that are going on nationally, we advocate on their behalf and then we connect with other organizations on campus, and then we support those issues," said Mills.

The organizations have yet to send off the water, still searching for a way to send it to Flint without driving to Michigan themselves. They are exploring options in Richmond, Va.

Goodine was unsure whether they would have another drive depending on Flint's continued need for supplies. Either way, BSA will continue to seek ways to connect Longwood to problems plaguing the nation, according to Mills.

Mills continued, "As Longwood students, we want to be citizen leaders and that doesn't mean just at Longwood, that doesn't mean just in Farmville, it doesn't mean central Virginia, it means worldwide."

Longwood water drive for Flint, Mi.

The collection officially ended last Friday, Feb. 19, with a few extra donations trickling in. BSA gathered around their end total.

"As Longwood students, we want to be citizen leaders and that doesn't mean just at Longwood, that doesn't mean just in Farmville, it doesn't mean central Virginia, it means worldwide."

On Feb. 12, BSA partnered with the Environmental Club and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to collect water for the residents of Flint, Mi. in response to their ongoing crisis.

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