Last Sunday night, MTV hosted their annual Video Music Awards (VMAs.) Over eight million people gathered in front of their TVs to watch their favorite celebrities, decked out in designer dress, take the stage and be praised for their success. Beyoncé, Lorde, Katy Perry, and the likes accepted awards for their work. However, even with all of the other talent in the room that night, Miley Cyrus managed to steal the show – by not accepting her VMA for Video of the Year.
When her video, Wrecking Ball, was named Video of the Year, Cyrus, well known for her recent radical switch from Disney Channel nice-girl to Bangerz Tour wild-child, sent her date up instead of accepting the award herself. Introducing himself as Jesse, Cyrus’s date spoke about the issue of homelessness among young people in the United States, and also mentioned some of his own experiences with being homeless. He then accepted the award on behalf of the Los Angeles based charity, My Friend’s Place, which “assists and inspires homeless youth to build self-sufficient lives,” according to their mission statement which can be read in full at http://www.myfriendsplace.org.
Jesse Helt captivated the audience and brought the issue of homelessness among our nation’s youth into the eyes of the public. In the United States, about 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year; 25 percent of those people are children under the age of eighteen, according to the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. Young people are on the streets, alone, hungry and scared, with minimal access to assistance.
We often tend to think about homelessness as something that happens in other places, the streets of New York City, or in underdeveloped countries; we may not think of it as being a problem that has an affect on us, but right here in Tampa there are over two thousand people with no place to call home, according to the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative. Being a student here at UT, I feel I am surrounded by people who are driven to succeed in life, and who have the opportunity to achieve that success. Every person deserves to have that same opportunity, regardless of where they come from. It is so important to bring attention to youth homelessness so that we can find the solution and bring opportunity to every child in the country. Our youth is our future; by helping to end youth homelessness, we also help to ensure a successful and positive tomorrow.
With a vast population of our country’s youth sleeping on beds of cold cement, begging for spare change, and never knowing when their next meal or shower will be, we should be spending our time and money dealing with this major problem. Huge sums of money are funneled into award shows like the VMAs, while major social issues like youth homelessness go without adequate funding, leaving more and more children alone on the streets.
High-profile celebrities have huge followings of people who respect and value their opinions. These stars should feel an obligation to use their influential power to create a better world. Often, however, stars feel a stronger desire to improve their public image than to actually make a difference. “Cyrus does it for publicity,” said UT freshman Antonia Haley. Sophomore, Grace Fleming, also saw Cyrus’s stunt to be “really insincere.” Despite her possible ulterior motives, Miley Cyrus took advantage of an incredible opportunity to show the country that youth homelessness is a problem that is happening here and now. Even if Cyrus hoped to use this to benefit herself, she still managed to shed light on a very pressing issue in our society.
Because of Cyrus’ small yet powerful gesture, donations are pouring into My Friends Place, and awareness of youth homelessness is on the rise. Even though many raise an eyebrow at her twerking spectacles on tour, Cyrus deserves nothing but praise for her important role in raising awareness of youth homelessness.
Emily Silverman can be reached at emily.silverman@spartans.ut.edu