Are you cold? The question has nothing to do with the chilly weather of late. The cold I am inquiring about has to do with a cold inside of a person rather than the cold outside of them.

Like the cold we face when we step outside, if we are exposed to the inner cold for too long, the results can be devastating.

James Patrick Kinney wrote a poem called "The Cold Within" that tells the story of six people who allowed differences and a lack of understanding to separate them and keep them from working together.

Their reasons for being divided may seem trivial - race, religion, class and self interest, but they cost them everything. The coldness they had for each other doomed them before the chill of their surroundings set in.

At UD, we interact daily with people who come from walks of life different than our own. We pride ourselves on being a community, coming together and embracing our differences rather than using them as walls.

To that end, UD has a wealth of warmth to offer. Some of my best memories are from my undergrad years here. However, I can't help but wonder if there are those among us who are feeling the slightest chill. At a Marianist university, this should be unacceptable.

As a community, we are responsible for reaching out to those who are different from us, not leaving them out in the cold. Each time we deny a member of our community warmth and acceptance, we lose a bit of heat ,too.

The best way to stop cold from spreading is to turn up the heat. Smile at someone you don't know, buy a meal for the person behind you, or invite a floor mate to hang out.

Random acts of warmth don't have to be big, just sincere and frequent. Cold is a human condition; let's work to keep UD warm.