At least two homeless people froze to death on the streets of Knoxville last week.
While many students celebrated a day off and canceled classes; as we Snapchatted snowball fights and got day-drinking drunk at OCI; during the same hours we binge-watched Netflix and procrastinated our studies – at least two homeless people froze to death.
Look, I get it – every student loves a snow day, myself included. It’s a break from the monotony of class and extracurricular activity, a blessing for those who needed tests postponed. Though each canceled hour of class wastes nearly $50 of our tuition and fees, the freedom to play in the snow is priceless.
But as college students, we often forget our privilege. In some countries, children are so desperate to get to school that they cross war zones, rickety bridges and slim mountain passes – the idea of “celebrating” getting out of school probably does not make sense to them. Why would you pay to be educated and then hope that education gets cancelled?
And forget about the fact that we were celebrating a day off – we were also celebrating the same winter conditions that put thousands of people out of power and led to countless car accidents and maintenance requests. Knox County and the city government spent nearly half a million dollars salting and maintaining roads last week – we students had the privilege to sled on them.
Before the weather warms, maybe we could all check our privilege. Faculty appreciation week ended Friday, but any day is a good day to thank the professors and instructors who fill our ungrateful heads with the information that will one day make us college graduates – placing us in the one-third minority of Tennesseans with degrees.
And while you’re writing that thank you email, consider the faces you passed on the way to class. That guy shoveling the sidewalk, or that lady pushing her cleaning cart down the hallway … offer a humble thank you as you walk by. Chances are, nobody else has. Though some sidewalks remained icy far longer than many of us would have liked, the fact that eight foremen (only eight!) on UT’s landscape services team cleared as much as they did is remarkable – and certainly deserving of appreciation from the privileged masses that slush by without having to wield a shovel.
I know I have privilege to check; as a white, educated, affluent, Christian, able-bodied male, I have never personally experienced the discrimination that affects the marginalized minorities in our society. By pure luck, I have been born into privilege.
Uncle Ben once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I know real life is not a Spider-Man movie, but the words ring truer than ever on these cold February days. Our power is our privilege, and our responsibility is to apply it to those less privileged among us.
At the Knox Area Rescue Mission on North Broadway Street, homeless individuals can get clothes, shoes, coats, socks and underwear for free. A friend of mine named Robert Gipson volunteers there at night; by day, he drives a van all over Knoxville, collecting unused clothing from churches and community organizations, even Goodwills – the clothes they cannot sell become the clothes that others cannot live without.
He asked me to help introduce him to the university community in hopes that he might grow the network of groups from which he collects. So here goes: starting today, anyone who has clothes they don’t need or want can email me at [email protected]. Find me on twitter @rjvogt31. I will connect you to Robert, and we can get those clothes to people who do need and want them.
At least two homeless people froze to death on the streets of Knoxville last week. We students have the privilege – the power – to make a difference.
R.J. Vogt is a senior in College Scholars.
