One night each spring, Fairfield students construct cardboard forts outside the BCC during Hunger and Homelessness Week. They hope to draw other students’ attention to the lifestyle of those who are homeless, marginalized and overlooked. Although these students may have their hearts in the right place, they are merely patronizing the people they are imitating. This activity seems equivalent to students painting themselves black for Black History Month or having a temporary boyfriend/girlfriend for National Coming Out Day.
Hunger and Homelessness Week is dedicated to “promoting awareness for those less fortunate in our community and throughout the world.” Yet I am not sure there are many people in “our” community who are less fortunate in the way that the statement implies.
Our community is primarily composed of middle-class and upper-middle class students, few of whom have experienced the harshness of the streets. The week itself displays this by only including the “less fortunate” on the last day of the event during the Hunger Clean-Up. Besides that, at no time does it seem that the fortunate and less fortunate interact.
Instead, the events seem to cater to “our” community alone and dealing with our own preoccupation with being informed and educated about social issues. Some imagine that simply by eating soup and bread they are doing their part in helping the homeless. Many of the events scheduled during this week are of value, but they are not a substitute for other experiences that students should have. Information without experience is not an education.
The most obscene display of posturing and misdirected pity during the week of events must be Cardboard City that runs Thursday night into Friday morning. Many people claim that the event is to inform fellow students throughout the night. To me, this does not seem to be effective for a number of reasons: many students are not going to be up at one in the morning, nor are they apt to stop and talk to anyone out of the ordinary, it just isn’t Fairfield nature.
If students want to draw attention to this problem, they may consider doing something in the future that they could gather real experience from. A small group of students in Boulder, Colorado, spent three nights in Denver living on the streets two weeks ago. During the days they begged for money individually to provide their meals, while at night they slept together for safety reasons. This type of experience seems valuable and would actually give students a realistic and meaningful perspective on homeless life.
I know that students are not trying to spend a night in the shoes of a homeless person, but rather educate other students on the issue, which is an important first step to create change. But it seems to me that this step is being considered good enough and maybe a final step for many.
If students take a little more initiative to spend a night or two on the streets of Bridgeport to realize how difficult living day to day is, they may be able to inspire others to go beyond the educational step.
I want to express that I am not attacking those who are involved in Cardboard City, for you are doing more than many others on campus. However, Cardboard City is an offensive event that reflects poorly on an out-of-touch community that is passing on opportunities that could much better serve us as a whole.
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