Shanelle Sherlin sat on the corner of Front Street downtown near the I-5 ramp dressed in warm, mismatched clothes next to a small cardboard sign that read, “Please help!” Sherlin is actually a sophomore at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and a Los Angeles debutante, but she had decided to spend 12 hours playing the role of a young homeless person and speaking to those who actually live on the streets. She had taken to the streets for a visual arts project in which she had been commissioned to do something that would draw reactions from others. “It was really embarrassing,” Sherlin said. “Most people would glance down at me but not pay attention. If I made eye contact with them, they would turn away. One guy pulled his son away from me. It was really sad to see the reactions of people around. No one was courteous. Most people would give me dirty looks. I’m not saying everyone had to stop by to have a good conversation, but it was really hurtful to see what homeless people have to deal with every day.” Sherlin managed to collect $27 within a few hours after someone stopped to help her and she explained she was actually a college student. He gave her $20. Sherlin collected three bags of bottles and cans, and donated all her earnings to the homeless. She spent time speaking with various people living on the streets, including one 50-year-old who had earned a degree from a reputable college but lost his business after he was disabled in a car accident. “I heard their stories,” Sherlin said. “I asked them how they ended up on the streets, and what it was like to live like this. A lot of them do develop alcohol and drug problems on the streets but it’s not necessarily how they got there… They were happy just to have someone to talk to since they are lonely all the time.” Sherlin sat on the street, collected bottles and spoke with the homeless from 3 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, and then returned for a few hours on Sunday to hear more stories. A male friend kept watch over her from a bus bench close by and shot photos of her for the visual arts project. Sherlin is the philanthropy chair at Sigma Kappa, and she hopes to inspire her sorority sisters to undertake a similar project. She is working toward a degree in communications and dreams of becoming a broadcast journalist. “The point was for me to get a feeling for how [homeless] people live each day,” Sherlin said. “You never really know unless you’re in their position.”