Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1998

Advocate for poor speaks in HUB

By CHRISTOPHER ANTONACCI
Collegian Staff Writer

Trying to inform students about the adversity people in poverty face, Joy Butts spoke to a group of 40 students Monday night in 301 HUB.

One of the many problems poor people face today, Butts said, is the creation of a permanent "underclass."

Butts is a member of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a service organization in Philadelphia that fights for equal rights for poor people.

Because 13 percent of the population owns 95 percent of the wealth, Butts said, it is difficult for impoverished people to fight the system and make changes unless they unite.

"It's hard for students in college to understand poverty since a lot of them don't come from a poor background and they are never introduced to it."

Jackie Cochran (sophomore-international politics)

"We, as poor people, are all in the same boat and we must stick together," Butts said. "We have to let all poor people know that the boat we are on is the Titanic. For most people, the American dream is the American nightmare."

Mike Parker (senior-comparative literature) said the program, which was sponsored in part by Collegians Helping Aid Rescue Missions, made him realize the severity of poverty.

"The video hit home on the extreme poverty in the inner cities," Parker said.

Butts' group has been trying to combat poverty in the "badlands" of Northern Philadelphia, Butts said.

While the city government has been trying to appease people with minimum wage jobs, Butts said it is important that the city offer good jobs for the people so they can afford housing and take care of their children.

"You can't support yourself or your children on minimum wage or welfare," Butts said.

Jackie Cochran (sophomore-international politics) said the program presented an issue some college students are not familiar with.

"It's hard for students in college to understand poverty," she said, "since a lot of them don't come from a poor background and they are never introduced to it."