Students sleep outside to increase awareness of homelessness
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The members of the Delia
Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta
Sigma that gathered on the lawn
of Winston-Salem State
University Nov. 16 don't know
what It's like to go hungry.
Some of them had never slept
outside for one night, much less
a week or a month. Yet, the
young men are taking steps to
understand the plight of their
homeless brothers and sisters,
and to raise awareness on cam
pus about the challenges that
such individuals face.
"A lot of college kids don't
know
Brown
how it is
to be
home
less.
Most of
the peo
ple stay
in the
dorm so
you
always
know
you've
got a roof over your head if you
need it in college," pointed out
20 year-old Jachin York, presi
dent of the Sigmas. "It's good
to get out here and really see
how it is to be homeless, really
sleep outside and see what
homeless people go through
and it'll change your perception
about it."
To this end, fraternity mem
bers have participated in an
annual "sleep out" on campus
for the past 1 1 years, encourag
ing their brethren and other vol
unteers to sleep outside in card
board boxes as a sign of solidar
ity with those who spend their
lives on the streets.
Photos by Layla Fanner
Students construct a cardboard shelter.
"Traditionally, we get a lot
of boxes and we construct
makeshift homeless tents and
homes," said Marcus Duffin, a
Wake Forest student and Delta
Alpha Chapter member who
helped organize the project.
"There's no fancy tents ... we
try to make it as symbolic as
possible."
This year's sleep out was
part of a week long roster of
eyents hosted by the frat,
dubbed Homeless Awareness
Week. Among the week's
activities were a Homeless
Awareness Forum, a candle
light vigil and a blood drive.
"I'm trying to hit multi
facets within the problem
because homelessness isn't just
a single, flat issue," Duffin
explained. "Outside of this, we
try to be involved in the com
munity ... and also volunteer
ing at Samaritan Ministries
whenever we can ... just to
show them that someone does
Davis
Jrom page At
"I began to doubt myself as
a writer because my first play
was so successful, and as it
started to wind down five years
later. 1 had to write something
else," he said. "My second
play, 'Don't Let the Green
Grass Fool You,' was nowhere
near as successful."
Subsequent plays enjoyed
more success than Davis' sec
ond attempt. He retained a
full-time job, touring the coun
try with his team of actors on
the weekends.
When he was offered a
two-year contract to go on tour
from a well-known promoter,
Davis was faced with a tough
decision.
"This was the first major
decision that I had to make in
my life, because what it meant
was I needed to quit my job,"
he said. "I go from being a
program director and doing 30
dates on the weekends a year
to now 'this is all you can do.'"
Nevertheless, the opportu
nity was too appealing to pass
up. Davis and his supporters
resigned from their respective
jobs and hit the road. "I really
thought this was the beginning
- this was what I had worked
Carol Montague
for," he said. Less than two
months later, the contract fell
through and Davis was left
with nothing.
"Needless to say, I was
devastated for about a year,
because it wasn't just me; it
was those people who believed
in me and who were a part of
my group that had quit their
jobs," he stated. "The cards
just didn't line up for me."
Discouraged and disap
pointed. Davis gave up writing
for more than a year, but the
stories continued to build with
in him and finally he gave in.
His next production, "If
Loving You is Wrong," became
the best selling play ever, with
more than 20,000 DVDs sold.
Longing to be closer to his
family, Davis scoured North
Carolina searching for a place
that would suit his artistic
needs.
"I wanted to move to a city
that appreciated the arts and so
Winston just stuck out," he
commented.
Inspired by the legacy of
the late Larry Leon Hamlin
and the National Black Theatre
Festival, Davis moved to the
City of the Arts last summer
and says that things have been
falling into place ever since.
He met the love of his life,
Carver High School Principal
Carol Montague, whom he
plans to wed next year, and
found a church that satisfies
both his spiritual and artistic
needs.
"I'm 42 years old and I've
never had the career, the spiri
tuality and the geographic
location all meshjogether," he
remarked with a smile. "I can
not begin to tell you the doors
that have started to crack open
since I have joined this church.
I know I'm in the right place."
"The Real Meaning of
Christmas" will be presented
Saturday, Dec. 8, at Union
Baptist Church at 3 p. m. and 7
p.m. For more information,
call (336) 724-9305 or visit
www .unionhaptistwsnc .org .
care."
Senior Kenneth Brown,
who jus! became a Sigma las!
spring, was experiencing the
sleep out for the first
time.
"Being able to be
a part of something
like this has been
very exciting for me,"
said the education
major. "I'm just
looking forward to
everything, being
able to stay outside,
sleep outside,
because I ve never
slept outside before."
Brown was hopeful that the
sight of the fraternity brothers
sleeping in a cluster of boxes
would hit home for other stu
dents.
"A lot of people take a lot of
things for granted. I know I
was one of those people
because I alwavs looked at
York
some of the things I
wanted, you know,
and not things I
actually needed," he
said. "This is some
thing that a lot of
people need to see, I
believe - younger
people as well as
older people - to let
us to know to appre
ciate it and to just
look at the things
and opportunities that we have
that other people don't have."
Participating in homeless
awareness activities on the
WSSU campus over the past
three years has changed the way
Duff in views the issue of home
lessness.
"Prior to this experience,
homelessness was a very dis
tant and abstract idea ... it's
something that you see but you
aren't really connected with,"
he remarked. "I think (this
project has) given me a chance
to see the humanity in it all."
Though Homeless
Awareness Week is over until
next year, Duffin says he hopes
its message will continue to res
onate in the hearts and minds of
those who participated.
"1 think that our generation
should see it as an opportunity
to make a difference for our
time and beyond." he remarked
"These people who we are help
ing today are shaping our com
munity tomorrow."
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