Twelve different organizations will take over the Quad, day and night, this week in self-constructed huts to promote the issue of affordable housing.

The Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of Habitat for Humanity will host the fourth annual Shack-A-Thon event on the Quad. The event will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday and will end at approximately 1 p.m. Friday.

The event aims to raise awareness about the issue of affordable housing that is prevalent within the city of Syracuse and around the world.

‘I hope that Shack-A-Thon will shine a new light on our campus. On a daily basis as we attend classes and club meetings, going back and forth from one beautiful building to the next, many of us don’t realize that we are living in a struggling city,’ said Christina Fieni, coordinator of the event and a sophomore graphic design and English and textual studies major, in an email.

While the event is put on by Habitat for Humanity, various campus organizations are involved. With a contribution of $500, any campus organization can participate in the event by building their own shack and housing members of their organization in it.

On Wednesday, the groups will begin construction and decoration of their shacks. At the end of the event, the shacks will be donated to area families to use as playhouses. The shacks must be inhabited by at least two students at all times during the three-day period, including overnight.

The money that these organizations contribute and all other money raised from the event will go toward funding for the home that Habitat for Humanity will be building this year on the Near Westside, said Mo Finn, co-executive director of Habitat for Humanity and a junior television, radio and film major. She also said that this year they hope to bring in $6,000 or more.

Habitat for Humanity tries to put on the event with minimal cost to organizations so funds earned can go to their annual project, Finn said.

‘We get funding for the materials for the shacks through SA, which is awesome because it means that all the money we make can go straight to the house,’ she said. ‘We also try to get food donated for the students who live in the shacks.’

Fieni said 12 organizations will participate in this year’s event. These organizations include Alpha Phi Omega, which will have two shacks; Alpha Gamma Delta; Syracuse University Ambulance and Health Services, which will share a shack; Lambda Upsilon Lambda; First Year Players; Orange Seeds; the Office of First-Year and Transfer Programs; Jerk magazine; the Interfraternity Council; the Whitman Management and Service Learning Community; the Muslim Students’ Association and Hillel, which will share a shack, she said.

‘I hope students will leave the event with a better understanding of the severity of the issues,’ said Azhar Ali, president of MSA, in an email. ‘Within our shack, I hope students will learn more about the individuals from the other co-sponsoring organizations and see that they can make a bigger and better difference in today’s world if they work together and look beyond any perceived differences they might have or believe in.’

The event will also include a Thursday night performance of the Mandarins, an a cappella group, and Raices Dance Troupe, which will host a dance workshop after its performance. These events will be held in Gifford Auditorium in Huntington Beard Crouse Hall at 9 p.m.

‘As a student at Syracuse University, it’s very easy to get stuck ‘on the hill’ and not explore the surrounding city,’ Finn said. ‘Because of this, a lot of students don’t realize that there are issues in the surrounding area that we can have an effect on during our time here. Habitat for Humanity is one organization that can help students connect to the city in a constructive way.’

cffabris@syr.edu

Published on October 4, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Casey: cffabris@syr.edu | @caseyfabris