Student wins national activism award named for slain Cornell alum

Food Distribution Project coordinators Natalie Bridgeman, center, and Scott Strobridge, right, along with Gina Cardillo, prepare surplus food from Balch Dining Hall for the Salvation Army last November. University Photography

By Casey Morse '00

Cornell junior Natalie Bridgeman has been chosen to receive the Michael Schwerner Activist Award. She is the first Cornellian to win the national award, which is named for a martyred Cornell alumnus. The award recognizes Bridgeman's citizen activism through Cornell's Public Service Center and her development of the local Food Distribution Project.

The Michael Schwerner Activist Award, funded by the Gleitsman Foundation, which was established by Cornell alumnus Alan Gleistman '51, recognizes students who in the spirit of citizen activism have taken a leadership role in efforts to solve issues and by challenging inequity and injustice are promoting positive solutions for social change. Schwerner, a 1961 alumnus and a civil rights activist and field-staff worker for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), was murdered in Philadelphia, Miss., along with fellow civil rights workers James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, in 1964.

"It is certainly an honor for me that this award comes in the name of Cornell graduate Michael Schwerner, a role model of mine who dedicated his life to social justice," Bridgeman said.

The Food Distribution Project, which Bridgeman developed, organizes and implements the gathering and distribution of excess food from Cornell dining halls for local food programs for the needy. The project, established a year ago, is run through the Public Service Center. Bridgeman's work in developing the project required her to rally student volunteers as well as Cornell departments and organizations, including Campus Life, Transportation Services, Risk Management and the Student Assembly, to get the project on its feet.

"Natalie is a dynamic and caring individual," said Sarah Brown, assistant director for student programs and external relations at the Public Service Center. "She has a passion for the Food Distribution Project that drove the idea to reality. Her enthusiasm has brought in several other volunteers and many staff members to keep the project going and growing."

Bridgeman said she conceived of the idea for the project after hearing about a similar program at a nearby college. "I saw that Ithaca College was doing a program, and since Cornell is almost twice as big with twice as much food, I figured it was worth looking into here," she said.

A government major in the College of Arts and Sciences and an Elsie Montag Cornell Tradition Fellow, Bridgeman is enrolled this semester in the Cornell in Washington program. Senior Scott Strobridge, who has coordinated the project in Bridgeman's absence, said because of the project, there is no longer a need for the local Salvation Army to purchase food to feed its weekend clients.

Bridgeman said her vision for the Food Distribution Project was to bring together students, staff, various campus groups, the Ithaca community and the homeless population in one effort. "My intention was for all of these different groups to come together and work toward a common goal," Bridgeman said.

In addition to her work with the Public Service Center, Bridgeman also is a member of the all-female a cappella group, the Touchtones, and is a member of the student environmental activist group Cornell Greens. A native Californian, she plans to attend law school after graduation and is hoping to pursue a career in international environmental law at a public interest firm.

The Schwerner Award, Bridgeman said, as a recognition of student activism also is a recognition of the Public Service Center and the support system it provides to students interested in becoming involved in community activism and service.

"Although I've been involved with activism surrounding social justice and environmental issues since I was in elementary school, this award to me signifies the importance of sustaining a commitment to what one believes in," Bridgeman said. "To me, this award signifies the importance of integrating activism into daily life in order to achieve change."