Students raise awareness on homelessness by demonstrating on Quad
After depriving themselves of food to eat, tents to sit in and electronic devices to play with, students huddled together Monday evening for the Sleep Out on the Quad event.
Students working with Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of the New York Public Interest Research Group campaigned to raise awareness for hunger and homelessness from 5 to 10 p.m. Monday.
The main purpose of NYPIRG is to make people aware of social and environmental issues, said Ted Traver, NYPIRG project coordinator. Traver said there are 20 campus chapters across the state raising awareness about related social issues.
Approximately 10 demonstrators were present at the event at 7 p.m., but Traver said he expected another dozen or so to filter in and out throughout the night.
The demonstration was meant to attract students campus-wide to raise awareness for hunger and homelessness, which more than 800 people suffer from in the Syracuse area, according to a NYPIRG news release.
To accurately mimic the lives of the homeless, demonstrators were adamant in only accessing non-electronic materials, having nothing to eat and sitting on cardboard.
Some students, when passing, slowed down to see what the demonstration was about. A few others sat on the Quad with the demonstrators to show their support.
‘The simulation of homelessness is what we’re trying to make aware,’ said Maya Kosoff, co-coordinator of the event and a sophomore magazine journalism major. ‘There is real disconnect between the university and the city.’
NYPIRG, which sponsored the event, also encouraged students to donate nonperishable food items to support the hungry and the homeless. Bria Morse, co-coordinator of the event and a freshman nutrition science major, said canned goods and items that don’t require much cooking were preferable donations because the homeless rarely have access to electronic devices.
NYPIRG plans to host a hunger and homelessness campaign drive Oct. 26, Morse said. The group intends to advertise in neighborhoods to pick up nonperishable foods in costumes, she said.
Raising awareness about homelessness often being misattributed as a stereotype was also on the minds of the demonstrators.
Kosoff, also a staff writer for The Daily Orange, is familiar with poverty-stricken life because she volunteers at shelters and kitchens, she said. Kosoff said she knows how easy it is for someone to become homeless.
Many people have unrealistic views on what being homeless is like, Kosoff said. The homeless are often labeled as lazy, stupid and substance abusers when that’s not always the case, she said.
As the night continued, temperatures dropped into the mid-50s. But the group said they planned on making it through all five hours of the event.
‘Yes, we’re planning on staying here no matter what,’ Kosoff said. ‘If it rained, we would have been fine with that.’
The group originally planned to sleep overnight on the Quad, but elected to stay from 5 to 10 p.m. because Tuesday classes interfered.
‘We actually wanted to sleep out here,’ Morse said. ‘It was to our benefit because we wouldn’t have as much schoolwork to do and people could still see this.’
Published on October 17, 2011 at 12:00 pm
