Students battle the cold for the cause

This month saw the Student Union hold its 6th annual sponsored sleepout. From 9pm on the 25th of January, to 9am the next morning, 26 guys and gals from around the university slept outside the Open-Access Centre to help raise money for homelessness here in Bournemouth. Support for the event has been varied, as last year only 12 people turned up so this year’s turn-out is seen as a big improvement. For the past three years the sleepout has been run by SU Volunteering Officer Joshua Seaman, who is also a 3rd year Marine-Archaeology student. In an interview with The Wire, he said how he was “not too disappointed with the numbers” and thought “it went very well”. Tea and Biscuits were available throughout the night in a near-by class room, and whilst most people brought their own sleeping bags, spares were available should anyone staggering out of Dylan’s decide they fancied a nap. This event is also supported by the Salvation Army, who receives any money raised from the event, and sends a meal van down in the morning to provide the brave pioneers with a bacon role and a cup of tea. Marie, who manages the meal-run thinks it’s “absolutely wonderful” what the students here at BU having been doing, and that it “shows the homeless people that young people do care”. She also said that events like this are “not just about meeting a need, it’s about making the people fee valuable, to share the joy”. When The Wire went down to see how everyone was getting on, they all seemed to be in good cheer, and a lucky few were even sound asleep. Hannah Mozley, a MA Journalism student doing a research project on homelessness feels that it is “important that something is done” and that “Bournemouth has a bad reputation for homelessness”, she also feels that sometimes these events “don’t necessarily make a difference, but help serve a persons conscious”. In response to this, Thomas Whitman, a 1st year Journalism student maintained that taking part in events such as these “show that you are conscientious”. Emily Darling, a 2nd year Communication Studies student, feels that people “always take things for granted” and that it is important to “give something back” “a good cause”. Other sleeper-outers like James Taylor and Caroline Ewens both feel its good to “do something practical” and that sleepouts like this “help raise awareness”. Whilst camping out outside the uni, campers noticed how passers by seemed “indifferent” to what was going on, and that they had heard “a lot of ‘poor student’ routines”. When The Wire grabbed Jennifer Sarah Brazil, a passer by, she seemed to confirm this. When asked, Jennifer said that she thought it was “probably good fun”. Luckily, sponsors have been quite generous, with one girl receiving over £100. Last year the 12 participants raised £500 between them, and with the money collected in the buckets already at £213, Joshua is convinced that this year’s takings could be well over a grand.

By Joe Robinson