Plymouth State University, with help from students and organizations such as Athletics, Student Senate and the ARD?s of Residence Halls, hosted the second annual Hunger and Homelessness Week. Held from the seventeenth of November until the twenty-first, the week was filled with programs, events and speakers all aimed at educating the campus and town of this growing epidemic that is affecting billions of people everyday.
This year the week was coordinated by students including but not limited to, Danielle Zercie the president of PSU Volunteers, Andrea Krupsky the Coordinator for Community Service in Belknap Hall and Jeremy Foskitt and Andrew McLean both first year representatives on Student Senate, as well as Community Service Orientation Leaders. Faculty member Nancy Conklin is advising the event and participating.
The hope is to raise awareness,? states first year McLean. ?It?s not about the money or the food or the clothes. It?s to get people to feel what it?s all about so that they are more compelled to take action, get the word out, look at the big problem and educate people about it.?
The concept of Hunger and Homelessness Week began two years ago when students Laura Brusseau and Brandy Bobusia attended a conference that spoke of the hardships and facts surrounding hunger and homelessness. The two then decided that this knowledge was something that absolutely had to be shared with the campus so they started the first awareness week last year.
Monday started the week with a special guest appearance by a young woman and her one-year-old baby who have been living in the Pemi-Bridge House Shelter. She spoke of the hardships she and her two children have been facing. She lost her apartment and has trouble finding a job because she never had the chance to finish her high school education. On top of this, she is having a hard time finding affordable housing in the area that would meet her needs. The presentation, held in the fire place lounge, also included a Plymouth State University student shared her experience as a homeless when she was 13, and how she overcame the hardships of homelessness to be student of higher education today.
Tuesday was dedicated to awareness. Students wore T-shirts with different facts and quotes with special meaning pertaining to the issue of homelessness. Facts displayed included: every seven seconds someone dies of hunger, three billion people make less than two dollars a day, forty percent of the people in shelters are children, and that the average age of a homeless person is nine years old. Also on Tuesday, tables were set up in the Pawsway of the Hub to provide informational brochures and pamphlets.
Wednesday was dedicated to the second annual Sleep-Out event. Students covered the Alumni Green and spent the night in the cold experiencing what it is like to be homeless. When the morning arrived all students were given a T-shirt in remembrance of the night and then treated to a free breakfast at Prospect Dining Hall.
Thursday event was the Hunger Banquet, held in the HUB MPR room. The purpose of the banquet was to help people realize the majority of the world does not eat big dinners every night Tickets were sold for three dollars to raise money for Oxfam. All participants took randomly numbered tickets when they arrived, the number symbolizing one of three country groups. The smaller group, ticket one, ate a meal with all of the fixings, sitting at tables with chairs and tablecloths. 15% of the world eats this way. Ticket group two were provided with rice and beans, showing how 35% of the way the world eats. The majority of the dinner participants were represented third world populations. They were provided with rice and water and had to sit on the floor. This amounted to an overwhelming 65% of the way the world eats.
The work doesn?t stop after the week has ended. Included in the informational facts made available on Tuesday, was information pertaining to a new Senate Bill, HR1102 dealing with House Resolutions. This bill will be presented to congressman in hopes of making some progress into supplying and building affordable housing for the nation.