Author: Galadriel Burr
On September 26th, 114 San Jose State University students canvassed the South University Neighborhood (SUN), conducting door-to-door surveys designed to capture resident’s experience and satisfaction of their community. The surveys documented resident’s levels of social connectedness, community engagement, and thoughts about their neighborhood. They also provided an invaluable “baseline” for future neighborhood assessments.
A week before survey day, CommUniverCity staff sent a “Save the Date” postcard to over 1,000 homes within the community in an effort to pave the way for students and encourage resident participation. This proved to be a highly successful tactic.“One woman opened the door and knew who we were and was ready for the survey,” reported one student. “She seemed excited to do it, which made me excited to conduct it.”
Throughout the day of the survey, Pastor and Steering Committee member Jennifer Goto kindly hosted the students at St. Paul’s Methodist Church. Both she and Community Leader Marcus Salomon gave the students a warm sendoff speech before heading out to conduct surveys. Fifty teams of both graduate and undergraduate students knocked on doors carrying surveys in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Students visited over 600 homes, resulting in over 200 completed surveys!
Over the next month, graduate students will be analyzing the survey data and synthesizing their findings into both visual images and written reports, and will be hosting an Open House at St. Paul’s Methodist Church on November 21st to share their findings with local residents. Join us in celebrating the voices of the community!
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