The tubs in the hallway outside of the cafeteria are hard to miss. There’s a tub for each of the five presidential candidates. Each tub sports a sign above it indicating which presidential candidate it represents with their name, photos, and hashtags such as “#Cans4Cruz”, “Soup4Sanders”, and “Tins4Trump”.
Students are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items, like cans of soup, and put them in the tub that represents the presidential candidate that they support. These goods will go to Food For Others, an organization that helps distribute food to people in need across Northern Virginia. They have different locations and programs that are a part of their organization. To learn more about this organization, visit their website, www.foodforothers.org.
“Cast your vote for our next president by donating cans to the bins outside a cafeteria!” Hannah Hiscott said in a Facebook post to the Community Outreach 2015-2016 page.
Even though the tubs call for nonperishable food items, other items have been left in these boxes, such as trash and perishable food. It has become aparent that the “Tins4Trump” tub has gotten the most attention. At one point, a student left a brick in the box with a paper that read “for the wall,” referencing Donald Trump’s comments about building a wall on the Mexican border.
Recently, there has been controversy over the American flag left in Trump’s box. Some students may find this offensive because the flag is crumpled up in a tub on the floor. Surprisingly, according to one of the students in charge of the drive, Jack West, President of the Sophomore Class, the flag was not placed in the tub on purpose.
“It just fell down and nobody has taken it out,” says West.
Despite the controversy, the drive led by the SCA has brought in over 20 items to be donated to Food for Others.