The Berkeley Beacon

Issue date: 11/18/04 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: Beacon file photo When guests arrived at last year´s Hunger Banquet, they drew cards that determined their economic class, which in turn, dictated the size of their meals.

When empty stomachs growl many Emerson students rely on a simple swipe of their ID cards to satiate cravings. But just outside the college, there are others in the community who do not have the convenience of the C-Store or the ease of EC Cash. Instead of dining halls, these people have soup kitchens.

The fact that some people do not have the money or means to provide themselves with food may be hard to digest, but events like tonight's Third Annual Newman Club Hunger Banquet, shed light on this issue and spur community involvement.

Often, homelessness and world hunger do not get enough attention. This is the reason the Hunger Banquet was established, according to Steven Scott, the chair of the banquet and vice president of the Newman Club, a catholic organization at Emerson. He described how the club got the idea for the event from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, also known as Oxfam. The Newman Club wanted to bring hunger awareness to the Emerson table, and the banquet serves up just that.

"We [the members of the Newman Club] wanted something that would make a statement about who we were and what we wanted to do both on campus and for humanity," Scott said.

The Hunger Banquet brings to light issues of impoverishment and starvation through an evening of events. The banquet does not ask for high-end donations. There is a $2 suggested donation and it is open to anyone hungry to help and willing to listen.

"The Hunger Banquet is an interactive event that brings to life the unequal distribution of food and wealth in the world," Scott said.

The mission is accomplished by placing people in other's shoes­­-rich or poor. Upon entering the banquet, participants pick up an information card at random, explaining the details for which socioeconomic class they will represent for the evening. A person's class determines where he or she will sit.

Those seated in upper class will be served a three-course meal while their middle and lower class counterparts will wait in line for a pasta dinner or bowl of rice, respectively. To make the representation more convincing, upper class seats will be limited to 15 percent, middle class participants will make up 30 percent and 55 percent of the participantswill sit in the impoverished section.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools