SJSU Students Sleeping Out in Tents
Homelessness, poverty message behind tent city
Thursday, Nov 20, 2008 | Updated 12:27 PM PDT
San Jose State University students will set up camp and spend the night in 150 tents on campus Thursday to urge the government to respond to an increase in homelessness and poverty in the country.
The students are responding to ongoing home foreclosures and unemployment rates by replicating tent cities that pop up all over the nation. They're trying to grab the attention of the federal government, paying particular attention to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans.
Each tent will be sponsored by a community or student organization and have a prepared statement describing their own definition of poverty and homelessness.
Students started setting up the tents Thursday morning and will take them down Friday morning. Speakers will start around 6 p.m.
