| Show a Two weeks ago the Student Association held heid Homeless Week on Redwood Campus Signs were placed around campus informing students of the facts regarding homelessness in Utah The culmination of the event was a two night sleep-over sleep in a cardboard box village assembled on campus Were students aware of this event Do students at care about the homeless or on- on campus activities e enough ough to jump in and be part of the experience W nl asked Last Weeks Week's poll r iJ v 1 1 Did you know about Homeless Week a pr 7 y J i L If I V I Yes No Undecided 25 5 ff I O J. J liro in the Homeless Week activities i J 1 you participate jf J l. l N r. r 1 I. I r Yes k V Yes N No U Undecided decided 34 J I 0 t 0 I have been often surprised by the polling data Ive I've received this semester but this is the first time I have been unable to believe it Im I'm sorry the only way 71 of students participated in homeless week is if you count reading the signs posted on campus The only activity I know of that even encouraged public participation was the Shack City sleep-out sleep and last week this paper reported that 30 20 people were there I see a discrepancy As of the close of school for the Thanksgiving weekend the numbers were much closer to what I I. I b believe lieve to be accurate The numbers Week awareness were about the same but the participation rate was between ten and fifteen percent I dont don't know what kind of book cooking has gone on between then and now but it cant can't obscure the fundamental problems that exist with a campus homeless week The most glaring flaw with the event was its ambiguity of purpose When I was walking walking- on campus and saw a small village made of cardboard boxes my first thought was was taking a crack at building dorms donns But apparently the goal of the mass of wet cardboard rd was to help students develop their awareness of what it is like to lay under a wet corrugated paper product for eight hours Kristen Browns Brown's November story gives the following two quotes of people asked why they spent two nights in Shack City First Brett Akiyama who said I thought it would be a good experience a a way to find out what they go through Heidi Hollman gave us a vastly different perspective sayi saying g It really makes you understand what the homeless go through So the point of this massive campus event which apparently of us participated in was so we could find out what the homeless go through Oh how I weep for myself and the rest of the of us who have no idea wh what t its it's like to be outside for an extended period Lets Let's get one thing straight Being homeless in the United States the most prosperous opportunistic nation in the world is in 99 of cases not an involuntary plight Instead of helping students to understand what homeless people go through perhaps we should remind everyone of what the homeless dont don't go through Such as the hassles of going to college getting a job and not spending all our money on alcohol and illegal drugs This summer I was waiting to meet someone just outside of Temple Square in Downtown Salt Lake City There were lots of homeless looking people around begging for money so a friend and I took the time to talk to one of them The one we talked to was an elderly man who said he was there downtown begging everyday We asked him where he slept and rather than giving us usa usa usa a pathetic story to up our donation to his cause he frankly replied Oh I live in Provo and ride the thebus bus bus here everyday The moneys money's a lot better than any minimum wage job Of course there are many underprivileged people in our society who's circumstances are areno areno areno no fault of their own Especially the children of the type of people J I described earlier but with much respect to our student leaders who organized this event I fail to see how 30 20 college students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents sleeping outside for two nights did anything to help them I suppose students are more aware of homeless people now but there are lots of things this student consid considers rs more important for students to be aware of than the homeless It would be much more productive for the school to put on something like Street Awareness Week or Hooters Waitress Awareness Week Have some Taco vendors come out raise all of our awareness of what its it's like to work one of those stands all day only charging per taco Many people in this nation do dirty jobs to keep their heads above water not to mention providing me with the tastiest food around Perhaps if sympathy is to be given it should be given with a purpose rather than just as as' a meaningless attention getting stunt to be politically correct A I h r. r i. i t 2 S 1 f f c |
