My name is Michael Hayes, and I am a Freshman student-athlete at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. The issue shown in my analysis is important to me because homelessness is a disturbing situation that I see every day in Downtown Atlanta. I am from a small, rural town in South Carolina called Florence. In Florence, homelessness is not an issue, and it is not talked about or brought to one’s attention. Immediately when I moved here, I noticed way too many people on the sidewalks and streets begging for money that were homeless and needed help. This societal issue is one that is swept under the rug many times and never gets a solution or answer. Getting homeless people off the streets and sidewalks and into permanent supportive housing is the answer to this city.

Outside of Student Center East on the sidewalk

The Student Center faces Gilmer street at the corner of Courtland Street Southeast. Something is always going on in a big city! Cars, buses, people, are all moving throughout the busy city on the shiny, black paved roads and sidewalks, along with the trees in the breeze. As the stoplights on intersecting streets turn from red to green, the panther express busses sluggishly go down Gilmer and Courtland Street. Green route, blue route, purple route all picking up and dropping students off. The students get off the shuttles talking loudly and all head in different directions away from the drop off location. Homeless folks roam the streets and sidewalks, in the heart of Downtown Atlanta at Georgia State University, outside of Student Center East. They are begging for money, food, and shelter.

Hundreds of tall buildings hover over Student Center East. Shiny, luxurious door frames gleam from the sunlight to enter these buildings. Electric red doormats await inside of these doors to wipe the dirty bottoms of city shoes off. Bright lights shine from the high ceilings to brighten the elegance of the wealthy building rooms. The homeless citizens of this city wander on the sidewalks, just feet away from these fancy building entrances. Some attempt to stay inside for a while to rest but are eventually kicked out. Hundreds of people are going in different directions. Hundreds of cars, buses, and shuttles are going in different directions as well. The dead autumn leaves blowing off of the trees are going in different directions, with the wind swirling around the enormous sky scrappers.

Homeless man begging for money
http://homelessadvice.com/why-do-homeless-people-say-god-bless-you-the-top-3-reasons/

On the other hand, the homeless people are going in the same direction. They walk down the streets and sidewalks together. The homeless people in this city do not blend in or go unnoticed. Most of them stick together as if they are a pack or a close-knit family. Wherever one goes, another one follows. There are tunnels throughout the city where they establish tiny communities inside of the underpasses where they stash all of their supplies and findings. Outside of Student Center East, a few linger around and beg for a dollar or extra pocket change from as many individuals as they can that give them any attention. Some take their hats off their heads and shake it back and forth, hoping to grab a generous soul’s heartstrings. A couple of coins or dollar bills add up inside of the hat as time passes by, and the sun gets lower and lower to the horizon line.

There is no roof over their heads, a bed to sleep in at nighttime, food to eat, clean water to drink, a bathroom to use, clean clothes, working air conditioning during the summers, and working heat during the winters. A bridge is the roof over their heads. The concrete is their bed, along with a blanket, towel, or piece of cardboard. Trash cans are dug through to find half-eaten food scraps for their meals. Their bathroom is outside anywhere that they can find a space. The clothes they wear have stains, smudges, and dirt on them. Do not judge these people when you see them because you do not know what they have been through, and you could end up like them. 

What this analysis proved is that homelessness is a problem in downtown Atlanta. The fact that these homeless individuals have nowhere to go besides under a bridge and wrap up in a blanket is startling. It is alarming to see people living outside, under a bridge when it is cold outside and walking around begging for money for food. There is always more to their story than what they tell you or what you assume. You never know what a person has been through in his/her lifetime or what made them end up there. Homeless people need to get help and assistance for their health-related limitations and chronic diseases. They should not get overlooked because they are living on the streets and sidewalks. Help them off the streets and sidewalks and into permanent supportive housing units so they can get treated and live like an average person.

My name is Michael Hayes, and I am a kicker and punter for the football team at Georgia State University. I am more than an athlete, though. I am a student-athlete. The space I chose to sit in and observe is study hall. Just like any other student-athlete, I have to attend study hall twice a week. These sessions take place in the academic office room, inside of Georgia State University’s Stadium. The purpose of study hall is to focus and spend time completing assignments with the assistance of intelligent mentors around.

The reason I chose the athletic study hall room to write about is because it is a quiet environment most of the time. I am in this large, dull room a good bit as well, even in the summers. I do not necessarily enjoy being in the room, but it serves a useful purpose. I felt like this spot would be a perfect place to sit back and reflect on the happenings around the room because not much goes on. Paying close attention to details is easier as well because you are just sitting back and observing.

In the room, are shiny, wooden tables aligned in rows with gleaming computer monitors, a mouse, and a keyboard on top of the tables. Under each table and at each computer, is a bright, black leather chair. In the corner of the room, sits a large, fancy, white touchscreen printer with lots of paper inside it, under a gleaming light. A few of my football teammates, Qua, Seth, and Connor, are sitting in this space with me, spread out across the room at a computer, completing their class assignments. There are five academic advisors in study hall as well: Mr. Stovall, Stephanie, Scott, Valana, and Dartez. Three out of the five of them have their own offices, which are in the room as well. They sometimes bring us student-athletes into their offices to have a heart to heart about our grades. If you go into any of the three offices, you know a severe conversation is about to go down. Their job is to help us athletes complete our homework assignments, make sure we finish/turn the assignments in, and be accessible for questions we have. They are not there to do the work for us, only to assist us with needed help.

A societal issue that comes to mind while I am in this in the academic office space is poverty and homelessness. I see it every day here in Atlanta, and I have not been used to it. Coming from a somewhat small, rural town in South Carolina,  I never thought about it. Walking to class, walking to the cafe, driving to the grocery store are all times that I notice poverty from the homeless people on the side of the street. As humans, we take simple things for granted every single day. I am thankful to be apart of a University that cares about athletes enough to provide us with the resources we need to be successful in the classroom, as well as on the field. If I were homeless and poor, I would not have a large study hall room with tutors to help and push me to complete my work. I would not have a fancy touchscreen printer and computers to complete my class assignments. I would not have these resources around me to better myself in the classroom. 

It was interesting observing what was IN the study hall space and what was happening around me in the room. Usually, I am strictly in there to do my work and leave as fast as I possibly can. While I sat back and observed, I noticed lots of details for different things in the room. The luxurious leather chairs we have, the new shiny computers, the touchscreen printer are all examples. I am thankful to have these things around me to assist my learning.

http://clipart-library.com/computer-pictures-and-images.html