While walking through Marguerite Hall lobby this past week, many of the residents may have noticed an interesting display. As part of Poverty Awareness Week, a program coordinated by community development assistants from Marguerite and Notre Dame Halls, the display consisted of various activities and displays that lasted from Nov. 11 to 14.

The display in the lobby consisted of labeled streets with various photographs taped onto the floor. Trash was also strewn about along with other signs of poverty, such as a stuffed figure of a poor individual underneath a “help me” sign.

“The purpose was to make people more aware of the neighborhood,” said Sarah Owens, CDA on Marguerite’s fifth floor.

The photographs were of houses and other locations in a 2.5 mile radius around SLU, which was how the display got its name, “A 2.5 Mile Story.”

“We wanted to get pictures of things close by. We also wanted to show the contrast in the areas around SLU,” said Lisa Arnold, CDA on Marguerite’s second floor.

“Through the display and activities, people were confronted with awareness,” Arnold said.

The display included various statistics and facts about poverty and the poor, such as “one-third of the poor live in suburbs,” and “42 percent of people served at food pantries are children.”

Along with the display, CDAs coordinated various other activities for the week. On Nov. 11, Owens facilitated a discussion on the topic of poverty. On Nov. 13 about 30 people from Marguerite Hall went to the YMCA and painted children’s waiting rooms, while on Nov. 14 volunteers “Cleared the Shelves” at Schnucks on Grand to help kick off the campus-wide Food Drive.

The project was a step toward getting students to confront the issue and see what was actually going on in nearby neighborhoods.

“A lot of people are uncomfortable with poverty,” Owens said. “There are a lot of myths that need to be busted. We are all human beings and need to help each other.”