By Catie Byrne, Staff Writer

Published in print Jan. 28, 2015

Wednesday, Jan. 21, the Rho Beta chapter of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity organized their annual 24-hour camp-out event on the EUC lawn to raise awareness for homelessness in Greensboro.

According to Cameron Smith, Rho Beta chapter president, the event has annually gathered participants and donations for the past seven years.

In association with Greensboro Urban Ministries, Zeta Phi Beta, Chi Upsilon Sigma Latina and Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sororities and volunteers, Smith and his fraternity camp outside, manage donations and solicit volunteers.

“We do the event every single year, we take it very seriously and are focused on service to help improve the community,” said Smith, as he gestured to the amount of donation boxes and smiled. “Last year there were only two donation boxes, this year there’s five, and it only started about an hour ago.”

After the two hour mark of the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. event, more than 25 people were braving the chilling, 34 degree night; huddled in sleeping bags, tents or standing to collect bags of canned goods and non-perishables, volunteers remained in high spirits, dedicated to staying the 24-hour course.

“We’re not only here in solidarity, but to help homeless people.” Smith said, noting that homeless people not only visit to support the cause but to ask to for sleeping bags, food or other supplies.

In reference to supplies, the neatly labeled bags for “food, clothes and toys” are a harsh reminder that homelessness reaches beyond the elderly and single adults. Volunteers echoed the sentiment that their reason for participating in the event is that any student could fall on hard times and become unable to support not only themselves, but potentially a family as well.

Simply supporting oneself financially is alone a difficult concept for many students to swallow. A majority of students rely on parents, scholarships, grants and loans to afford tuition, but not every student has that luxury.

While many students do work to support themselves, they also enjoy a cozy dorm, unlimited meal swipes or abundant flex. This has become a standard perception of the college experience at UNCG, and while there is nothing wrong with enjoying the “college experience,” it is important to consider that some of their fellow classmates struggle to simply make it through the day fed, clothed or sheltered. While Greensboro’s homelessness epidemic is not new, it is not any less troubling, a plight Smith wishes to remind classmates of.

“I don’t think homelessness is taken seriously enough,” said Smith. “It’s easy to forget about it when so few students on campus experience it, but walk a mile off-campus and it’s easy to find. I’d just like to remind people to be kind to everyone that you meet. You never know what other people’s situations are, and you never know what someone’s going through.”