While other students slumbered cozily in their comforting beds, Darius White hugged at his light windbreaker as he slept on the side of a downtown Indianapolis bank in 15-degree weather.

That first night, he only got about two hours of sleep because the biting cold, along with the wail of sirens and the echo of unfamiliar voices, would wake him every 15 minutes.

“That first night, I really thought I had too much on my plate; I didn’t think I was going to survive the night in a place where I knew no one and had no destination,” said White, a senior family and consumer sciences major.

White stepped off the bus to Indianapolis at about 11 p.m. on March 26 and walked the streets as a homeless individual for five nights before returning to Charleston.

Equipped with a water bottle, a map, the Bible, a fleece blanket, pepper spray, a pocketknife and $4 to live off of each day, White began the “Humble Homeless Project,” which he created for his independent study.

“I have always had a passion for the topic of homelessness, and I thought it would be better to actually experience the lifestyle for my independent study instead of gathering statistics and writing a paper,” he said.

His interest in homelessness began when he was growing up in Decatur and interacted with a homeless individual who was not bitter about his situation.

“He never had an attitude, and would say that even though he was in that tough situation, it wasn’t the end of the world,” White said.

He brought his cell phone so he could check in with his mother and Lisa Taylor, his adviser and an assistant professor of family and consumer sciences, every day at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. to tell them he was safe. He also used his phone to post entries in his “Humble Homeless Project” blog.

White would not panhandle or beg, but he would sit off the street to see how others perceived him and said the atmosphere was not welcoming at all.

“One day, a young lady with a child dropped a little hat, and I gave it back to her,” he said. “She just gave a look of disgust like she didn’t want anything from me, and she probably threw it away after I gave it to her because of the way I looked and probably smelled. You really feel like an outcast compared to the rest of the world.”

White said he was disheartened by how others treated him, but it was realistic to see how others were less accepting of the homeless.

For part of his project, he explored local job opportunities at a gas station and a convenience store, and approached employers while wearing his tennis shoes, sweatpants, T-shirt, windbreaker and Bud Light hat.

“One employee gave me an application and told me to get it in when I could, but the other one told me that they weren’t hiring, even though I knew they were,” he said. “You will always have people who won’t appreciate the lifestyle the homeless go through.”

After the first night, he was able to stay in bed No. 35 in the Wheeler Mission Ministries homeless shelter where he would have to check in from 3 to 4:30 p.m., go to sleep at 9 p.m. and wake up at 5 a.m.

He said other homeless individuals were accommodating to him and gave him certain tips. However, not all of his interactions with the homeless were pleasant.

At about 2:40 p.m., White walked down an alley on his way to the shelter and two homeless men in their early 30s, who had been banned from other shelters for robbing other homeless, attempted to rob him.

“At the end of the day, I think I put myself in that situation because I looked like a tourist,” he said. “I was at the veterans’ memorial downtown, and I was standing around with my map out looking like I wasn’t sure where I was going.”

The two men followed him into the alley, and one hit him on the back of his head while the other tried to pry the backpack off of him, he said.

White said he made a false wallet with an old school ID and $2 in case he was robbed, but he could not willingly allow them to take the necessities he had in his backpack.

“One pulled a steak knife and I pulled out my pocket knife, which about half the size, and luckily that bought me more time because two other homeless individuals came and yelled and diffused the situation,” he said. “I really wasn’t shocked at the experience, but I was more shocked that it was in the daytime and by other homeless individuals instead of a couple of teenagers.”

Taylor said when he told her about the robbery attempt, she became scared for his safety.

“Clearly there was a lot of risk with his project,” Taylor said. “I kept telling him that he didn’t have to stay the whole week, but he was determined and I think he got to see homelessness in a completely different perspective.”

White will host a discussion about his experiences today at 7 p.m. in the Coleman Hall Auditorium.

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].