Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but I, too, would like to respond to Tom Felhofer's Viewpoint from Sept. 16. Felhofer gave the impression that people stuck within the unjust structures of poverty should be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

I'm not much for debating, and a few weeks ago, Andy Berkhout gave a very clear response to Felhofer, but I would just like to genuinely ask Felhofer if he personally knows anyone who has been homeless.

Through the student-led organization Midnight Run, I have met some pretty cool people with pretty legitimate reasons for not being able to, as Felhofer says, "escape poverty" — no matter how motivated they are. With this question in mind and whether his answer is yes or no, I would like to invite Felhofer to get to know his neighbors in Luxemburg, Wis. who may find themselves in homeless situations. And if you're truly interested, Mr. Felhofer, Midnight Run is having a picnic on Saturday for the guests to whom we serve food and with whom we share company on a weekly basis. With all seriousness and sincerity, we invite you to come meet our guests.

We realize that sometimes life gets in the way of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and you may need a little help from a friend — or the government, for that matter. Midnight Run organizes Marquette students to volunteer at 10 agencies and advocates for the homeless population in Milwaukee. Most importantly, each time we enter our service site, we try to walk with our neighbors to see from their perspectives and avert judgments in an attempt to form real — yet difficult — relationships. No matter what, we strive to honor the dignity of every human person.

Midnight Run is celebrating 20 years this weekend starting with a run/walk on Friday. We don't run together on a regular basis, despite our deceiving name, but we invite all Marquette students, friends, family, guests from the program and neighbors to run with us the one day of the year when we actually do. The cost is $15 for a 5K and there's a celebration with the band "Greenville" at the Brew Bayou in the Alumni Memorial Union following the event. So whether you pull up your bootstraps or lace up your tennis shoes, we hope to find you at the run/walk tomorrow.