MOVE Encourages Students to Experience Social Issues Firsthand

The onset of spring always encourages students to fill the outdoor spaces of campus, where they can be found studying at tables along Tech Walkway or enjoying lunch in Tech Square. Beginning Sunday, some will enjoy the outdoors by voluntarily sleeping under the stars, but not with the usual supply of camping gear in tow.

This Sunday night, MOVE (Mobilizing Opportunities for Volunteer Experience) launches its annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Events will take place March 4–8 and, this year, MOVE leadership is implementing new events in order to amplify awareness among the student body.

The week begins with one of the newest and most visible events, Shantytown: A Closer Look at Homelessness. From Sunday to Wednesday nights, the interactive exhibit allows student advocates to experience displacement by camping out around the Campanile in tents, sleeping bags and cardboard boxes, while engaging in discussion facilitated by MOVE committee members.

“The goal of these events is to raise awareness of homelessness, and by doing so, to break down negative stereotypes and misconceptions that students have about the homeless we encounter in Atlanta,” said Lisa Thornsberry, a fourth-year Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering undergraduate and MOVE president. “It’s a call to see these people as real human beings — with feelings and life experiences — and to learn to address the issue by abolishing ignorance.”

Other events include a Hunger Banquet, co-hosted by Oxfam at GT, in which participants will experience firsthand how socioeconomic status affects hunger; a panel consisting of individuals who have previously experienced homelessness; a viewing of award-winning documentary “The Human Experience;” and volunteering opportunities with Café 458 and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Students are encouraged to participate in the week’s events by visiting the MOVE website for more details and registration.

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Events

• Sunday, March 4: Brunch at Café 458
• Sunday, March 4-Wednesday, March 7: Shantytown: A Closer Look at Homelessness, Campanile
• Monday, March 5: Hunger Banquet, Student Center Crescent Room
• Tuesday, March 6: Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau, Clough Commons 125
• Wednesday, March 7: Award Winning Documentary: The Human Experience, Student Center Theater
• Wednesday, March 7: Candlelight Vigil, Campanile
• Wednesday, March 7: Central Night Shelter, 2nd Floor Student Center
• Thursday, March 8: Volunteering at the Atlanta Community Food Bank