From Northern-Iowan.org:
With temperatures below 30 degrees, the sight of people seated on top of Maucker Union can be unusual. On a first glance, the natural questions to ask might be, who are those people and what are they doing out here? Bobby Elam, a graduate mathematics student and member of Phi Beta Sigma, answered that question – raising awareness.
Last Thursday night, Elam took residence above Maucker Union for the Homeless Sleep-Out, an event run by Phi Beta Sigma chapters around the country to alert students of the epidemic that is homelessness.
“It’s a great cause to sit out here and raise awareness for the homeless,” Elam said. “(On) a day like this, when it’s about 20 degrees, you get to actually experience what they’re going through – it’s extremely humbling.”
In conjunction with the Sleep-Out, Elam collected food and clothing donations for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and the Black Hawk County Women’s Shelter. Elam is a veritable one-man army, currently the sole member of Phi Beta Sigma at the University of Northern Iowa, as other members have graduated.