Let's face it, guys: we all make mistakes. Of course, I am no exception, and I'm here to own up to my mistake for everyone to see. Roughly two months ago, an opinion piece of mine in which I criticized the "Phil the Pig" campaign was published. I am officially retracting my disdain after finding out that the money raised from all those Phils has been donated to the newly opened student food pantry on campus.

For those of you who need a refresher, Phil the Pig is a philanthropy campaign that began early this semester in which students were asked to fill up green piggy banks with spare change to donate back to the university. At the time, it had not yet been decided what the proceeds from Phil the Pig would be used for. All I knew was that the university was asking for donations, as if my growing debt from tuition payments was not enough. I quickly decided to speak out against Phil and his hundreds of babies who fed off the money of destitute college students. It wasn't until recently that I was informed Phil was actually helping those destitute college students that I so vehemently "defended." 

I felt deeply ashamed after I found out that I actually spoke out against such a cause; after all, I know quite a few students on campus who face food insecurity. I have been hoping that a student food pantry would become a reality for quite a while now. It's not easy juggling school, work and other responsibilities, all the while wondering where one's next meal will come from. The results from a survey on campus stated that 60 percent of students at Southeastern have experienced food insecurity. I think it's safe to say that this is a problem that definitely needed to be addressed on campus.

It's true that, at the time that I wrote my opinion piece, it had not yet been decided what would be done with the funds collected from Phil. However, that is no excuse for my rash behavior. I urge everyone to learn from my mistakes by not acting before you have all of the facts. Make judgments for yourself rather than the opinions of another. It pains me to wonder if any students chose not to participate in the Phil the Pig campaign after reading my opinion piece.

With that being said, I would like to encourage each person to donate as much as they can to the student food pantry. The food pantry will be open on Monday, Nov. 25 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, Nov. 26 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Once it is up and running, the food pantry will be open to students year-round. For more information, contact Tasha Cooper at [email protected] or call 985-549-3771.