UW-Madison sophomore Alana Bandos had not seen the homeless connection to students until a recent lunch at Rheta's cafeteria in Chabourne Hall.
""I saw a student, backpack and papers out, eating my half-eaten, disgusting cafeteria food,"" she said. ""This is someone who is trying to better himself, get an education at one of the best institutions in the country, and can't make ends meet because tuition is so high.""
The incident stuck with Bandos, who hosted the Wisconsin Students Public Interest Research Group's ""Poverty Parallel"" event Thursday night at The Crossing, a campus Christian center.
About 25 students attended the event, which included a poverty simulation where students were given characters with different social statuses, encountering obstacles like unemployment, foreclosures, illness and drug addiction.
Mariana Berbert, coordinator for WISPIRG's Hunger and Homelessness campaign, said she thought the simulation had a greater affect on students than statistics.
She said she hopes it will motivate students to get involved in Madison's homeless issues, such as Assembly Bill 72. The goal of the bill is to fund grants to agencies and shelter facilities and provide temporary shelters for homeless individuals and families in the vicinity of the state Capitol.
Bandos said the recession helped spawn about 800 foreclosures throughout Dane County last year, adding many impoverished residents who, like many UW-Madison students, had never considered the prospect of homelessness before.
""We need to not only look out for ourselves and realize that this could happen to us through credit card debt and increased student tuition, but also help the people who are currently in this situation and realize that they are in dire need of our help,"" she said.
""It's not so much a matter of survival of the fittest. We're not doing more to help ourselves than they are, we're simply provided with better lives from the start,"" Bandos added.
WISPIRG will hold a ""Poverty Summit"" for students Friday at 2 p.m. in the Psychology building in room 107.
