Tent City 2011

So, Tent City -- that perplexing collection of mismatched tents that appears in the RCC Toilet Bowl every November, accompanied by young, often soggy students in various states of unwashedness and general misery.  This phenomenon manifests itself on the BSU campus every year around this time, and is met with discontent, scorn, or admiration, depending on who you are.  Designed to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless, it causes quite a stir on campus, and is subject to much scrutiny while it is in existence.  We as a class got to chat with some of the participants, and got the inside scoop on their motives and goals for their curious doings.
Nikki Sauber, the co-president of BSU's Social Justice League, is Passionate with a capital P.  She has spearheaded the Tent City event for five years now, and after a considerable amount of struggle, has finally managed to make it a (somewhat) reputable and successful endeavor.  She and her cohorts in justice reserve the space, get all the necessary forms signed, organize services for those students participating, and invite speakers to present to the students about homeless and related issues in Massachusetts and the rest of the country.  Nikki and her peers acknowledge the fact that by camping out for a week on a relatively well-off college campus, they cannot begin to know the struggle those without the comforts of four wall have to contend with, but their goal is ultimately to raise awareness of the plight.
We spoke to another student volunteer, Katrina, who touched on the some of the struggles the participants must deal with on a daily basis.  They must use only public facilities for their personal needs, like showering, eating, and using the computer.  Often, they get flack from non-participators who have nothing better to do with their time than to make life frustrating for others.  There have been reports of tents damaged, events interrupted, and belongings stolen.  Somehow, the message is lost on some thicker individuals.
Nikki had high hopes for this event when it was first conceived, but never imagined it would garner so much attention.  She says that, through no effort of hers, word of BSU's Tent City has spread to other colleges, some as far away as Florida, and she now has supporters who would love to join her crusade in fostering awareness among well-off students on their priveleged campuses.  Nikki and her cause set the bar high for the rest of us hoping to make a difference and open the minds of others to things much bigger than ourselves.
I, for one, would love to participate in Tent City, but my schedule and extra-curricular commitments dictate otherwise.  There is always next year.  I think it is a great thing these students are doing, raising awareness that there are issues out there a bit bigger than running out of dining dollars or being locked out of InfoBear.  Hard as that is to believe.