“Project HomeBase,” an event to raise awareness regarding the homeless, is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7, at 7 p.m. and continuing until 7 a.m. Thursday, May 8, at Churchill Field on the NDSU campus. Student organizers plan to stay overnight in cardboard boxes.
The effort was organized by students in an Honors 340 colloquium called National Tragedies and Heroic Responses, taught by Matthew Salafia, lecturer of English.
“At the beginning of the semester, I challenged my students to respond to a modern tragedy as heroes,” Salafia explained. “Their response has far exceeded my expectations.”
According to Salafia, students contacted speakers from local homeless shelters, lined up entertainment by an improv group and partnered with campus security. They also started a drive to collect toiletry items to donate to local homeless shelters, with bins at locations around campus.
“We'd love to inspire a bit of friendly competition among participants to see who can build the most creative box structures,” explained Erica Nitschke, a political science and journalism major from Bismarck, North Dakota. “Mostly, we're not asking students to come out and suffer through the elements for 12 hours. We want this to be an opportunity for students to have a bit of fun doing something they've likely never had the chance to do, connect with friends before the summer break and learn a bit about the community we live in and the problems it faces.”
Katherine Schulz, an emergency management major from Storm Lake, Iowa, said the event is a sign of solidarity, showing students care about the community. “As we look back on this experience, we realize how far we have come. What started out as a six-person class project has developed into an event that utilizes partners and connections across campus and the F-M community itself,” Schulz said. My hope is the participants will have a meaningful experience and will share what they learn with those around them. I firmly believe that if enough people are aware of the problem, an effective, permanent solution can be reached.”
Salafia has been delighted with the students’ efforts. “In this class, we examine the variety of ways that people responded to seemingly incomprehensible tragedies throughout American history,” he said. “In asking the students to identify a modern tragedy, I wanted them to reflect on problems in modern society that they believe need to be addressed. Then, in asking them to respond heroically, I wanted them to think of a concrete way to approach that problem, and to respond in a way that has an impact beyond the classroom. They proved to me that students can and will respond heroically, if we just give them the chance to do so.”
Planned presentations include representatives from Churches United, F-M Coalition for Homeless Persons, Dorothy Day House and City of Fargo Planning and Development.
Event sponsors include Fargo American Legion Post 400, Emergency Management Student Association, Sigma Nu Fraternity and the Volunteer Network.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.