Thursday, November 17th over 40 students participated in the Box City:
Homelessness Awareness Project which included poverty awareness workshops and a
mock soup kitchen. A film screening of The Red Wagon: Facing Hunger followed the
experience of sleeping outside overnight in cardboard boxes. This both
experiential and educational event attracted students from all walks of life
who came together for one purpose: to learn more about and make a statement
about the abundance of hunger and homelessness that exists in our country today.
Thanks to donations of sleeping bags from the Outing Club and a hot but modest
meal from resident directors in the Chittenden, Buckham, Wills complex, the students
were able to experience a night outside as so many of our homeless neighbors
experience every night.

The Box City left a mark on not only those who participated, but those who
witnessed the "city" when walking from their dorms to class, read
about it in the paper, and those community members who recieve the services of COTS
which received over $100 raised through pledges. It was an experience that will stick in the
minds of many and will hopefully become an annual event bringing awareness and
education to our UVM community.