Spartan Daily

Poverty campout engages activists at SJSU

Poverty under the stars Students huddle around a tent during Poverty Under the Stars event on the Tommie Smith and John Carlos Statue lawn on Thursday night. Photo by Jeffrey Cianci / Spartan Daily

IMG_2643 Environmental studies major Eric Acedo (right) and Occupy San Jose member Christy Wong work to assemble a tent for Poverty Under The Stars on Thursday evening. Photo by Jeffrey Cianci / Spartan Daily

Students and community members gathered on the lawn outside Clark Hall on Thursday night to discuss income inequality while addressing the issue of poverty by camping out for the sixth annual Poverty Under the Stars event.

More than 150 students gathered near the statue of Tommie Smith and John Carlos to listen to various invited speakers address the issue of poverty in San Jose.

Diana Rivas, a senior behavioral science major who was a returning camper to the event, said with the current economic hardships, spreading poverty awareness is even more important.

“It is definitely a pressing issue and something our government needs to address,” Rivas said. “People are struggling, students are struggling — the typical homeless person that you picture, it is anyone now.”

Poverty under the stars is a joint effort of Cesar E. Chavez Community Action Center and Cafe J, the Campus Alliance For Economic Justice.

Scott Myers-Lipton, an associate professor of and Cafe J adviser, said the group of students formed Cafe J in response to the social inequalities they witnessed in the Gulf states after Hurricane Katrina.

According to Myers-Lipton, he and his students met with lawmakers after visiting areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina in their efforts to put two bills into Congress.

One of the bills the group put into Congress was Gulf Coast Civic Works Act, which Myers-Lipton said was aimed at creating living-wage jobs to rebuild damaged infrastructure.

“We want jobs for all and we want a living wage for the people,” he said. “We think they can go a long way to solve this economic crisis.”

Justin Willis, a senior sociology major and Café J member,  said he knew firsthand the hardships of being homeless before he earned a scholarship to play football at SJSU.

“I’ve lived this, I’ve been in situations that most people wouldn’t desire,” Willis  said. “I’ve realized I need to give back because I have been a lucky one and there are some people in our world that are not so lucky.”

Willis, who was the master of ceremonies for Thursday’s event, said he hopes that those who pass by Poverty Under the Stars are aware that they too can be affected by income inequality.

“You see a lot of people passing by and not aware that they could one day part of the working poor,” Willis said. “I am trying to bring knowledge to society. There is 49 million people living in poverty today, it's ridiculous — something must be done.”

With the theme of this year's Poverty Under the Stars being creating a living wage, senior sociology major and Café J member Albert Perez said the group hoped to raise awareness for their message as well as gauge support for a possible future ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in San Jose.

“We want a living wage," Perez said. "We're not quite pushing it yet, but that is where were headed.

"It’s a visual representation. We're trying to portray homelessness and poverty by creating this tent city — the goal is to get people thinking because there is obviously a problem.”

The event drew SJSU students and students from other nearby schools as well as members of the Occupy San Jose protests.

Rebecca Thompson, a sophomore sociology major, came from Evergreen Valley College after recently learning about poverty issues in her class.

Thompson said she supported the idea of raising the minimum wage because it would help with the growing gap between rich and poor.

“I think there a lot of misconceptions about homelessness and overall I thought this was a good cause, so I decided to stay the night,” she said.

After listening to several local community leaders address the issue of poverty — including Pastor Scott Wagers and San Jose NAACP President the Rev. Jeff Moore, president of the San Jose chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People — participants watched the documentary “Waging A Living” before spending the evening on the lawn outside Clark Hall.