During the past few months, you might have noticed a small group of activists in Free Speech Alley promoting an event known as Sleep in a Box.Its mission, according to the group’s organizational Web site, is to “raise awareness and funds for homeless adolescents through school spirit and community involvement.”To encourage support, organizers have asked students to take part in a night of actually sleeping in self-constructed cardboard boxes.The event is scheduled for March 28 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day at a cost of $10 per student.Contestants will build their boxes out of cardboard and duct tape, and various prizes will be awarded for the most creative boxes. The night will also include dinner, snacks, drinks and breakfast, as well as possible music performances by local artists.The event will support The Lataro Foundation, a homeless awareness foundation intended to promote and aid Louisiana youth.Sleep in a Box started in 2007 at Lafayette High School. The event accommodated more than 500 participants and raised more than $8,000 for the Homeless Education Programs at public school systems in Louisiana, according to the student organization Web site.Sleep In A Box at LSU has more than 240 confirmed members thus far with nearly 500 guests listed as “maybe attending,” according to the group’s Facebook event page.Rising homeless rates have been a disturbing trend in recent years.Even before Hurricane Katrina, researchers estimated 45,000 homeless people resided in the state.Louisiana presently has the highest rate of any state for child homelessness, according to a recent report by the National Center for Family Homelessness. Some surveys indicated as many as 38 percent of the homeless are under 18.In 2006, the Interagency Council for the Homeless devised a plan touted as a “ten year plan to end homelessness.”But as usual, government efforts to curtail these numbers have failed.And with increased cost of living and inflationary standards still on the rise, many experts believe homeless rates will continue to increase.Certainly there is an admirable motive behind Sleep in a Box.But good motives don’t always ensure good results.With all the festivities taking place, the event has morphed into more of a social event than an event for social change.Students realize homeless people exist, so raising awareness won’t really accomplish anything. Further, sleeping in a customized box doesn’t offer any tangible aid to vagrants on Chimes Street.The way to legitimately help is through self-sacrifice.While Sleep in a Box is taking place, hundreds of living quarters will be available for the entire night by student activists.Ergo: Why don’t the participants offer homeless people a chance to stay in their homes?There’s no better way to help others than to truly give an altruistic gift with an actual impact.A participant who doesn’t want to engage in this trade isn’t helping anyone. They’re just acting like a giant Dick in a Box.For now, their impracticality is easy to do. Just follow these 3 steps:1: Poke some holes in a box.2: Stuff your junk in the box.3: Accomplish absolutely nothing.Good Samaritans don’t merely raise communal awareness.They take action.If the organizers of Sleep in a Box can’t think of a better idea than what they’ve offered, they’ll find themselves sleeping in boxes for a long, long time.Scott Burns is a 19-year-old political science and business sophomore from Baton Rouge.–Contact Scott Burns at [email protected]