Student Homelessness:

1. Student Homelessness: A multi-faceted adjudication challenge

2. Presenters • Meloni S. Rudolph Dean of Student Life Community College of Denver meloni.rudolph@ccd.edu • Jake Kasper Director of Student Conduct Community College of Denver jake.kasper@ccd.edu

3. Community College of Denver • Urban, commuter campus • CCD (approx. 11,000 students) • Downtown Denver • Tri-Institutional campus (Approximately 46,000) • Hispanic Serving Institution • Open Access

4. Definition of Homelessness • People who are living in a place not meant for human habitation, in emergency shelter, in transitional housing, or are exiting an institution where they temporarily resided, and were in shelter or a place not meant for human habitation immediately prior to entering that institution (HUD, 2012).

5. CCD Study • 6.2% “couch surf” each night • 1.3% currently feel pressured to engage in sexual activity to keep their housing • 20% feel chronic stress due to finding housing affects their ability to succeed in school • 9.5% have frequent absences due to insufficient housing • 10.2%met federal (HUD) definition of homeless • 6.6% have been homeless at some point while attending CCD • 1% currently live in their car

6. National Data on Student Homelessness & Poverty • 33,039 college students identified themselves as homeless in the 2010–2011 academic year. • 636,000 homeless in US (HUD 2011) • Denver is ranked 26th in the nation. • 47% low-income young adults are enrolled in higher education(2008) • National poverty level is 15% (2011) • Lack of employment opportunities (recent increase) • Decline in public assistance (recent increase) • Lack of affordable health care • Domestic violence • Mental illness (25%) • Addiction

7. Study of Student Homelessness • Inspired by the CCD Psi Beta Study • Data Collection: one 60 minute interview with each participant: • Adam • Oscar • Maria

8. Related Theories • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • A. Maslow (1943, 1954) • Downward Comparison Theory • Wells (1981) • Challenge and Support Theory • Sanford (1966)

9. Findings • Pride and Independence • Faith • Hope • “No one knew”

10. Interesting Pieces • Panhandling – a symbol of lost hope or pride • Downward Comparison Theory - when identified was also linked with an act of kindness and generosity to another

11. Implications for Conduct officers • How it is generalizable… • Challenge and support • Student development • Individual’s Needs v. Needs of Community • Limitations – Case Studies • Vincent • Matthew

12. Case Study #1 • Vincent

13. Vincent • He is a non-traditional, self-identified homeless “C” student with several incompletes and failures. He first enrolled in 2009 and has taken out full financial aid every semester with no definitive plan to graduate. • Vincent is a student who identifies as homeless. He has a lengthy criminal history full of disturbances of the peace, drug felony violations, forgery, contempt of court, theft and carrying concealed weapons. • Vincent was widely known on campus as “the homeless guy sleeping on the couch”. He would spread himself out in a public space, rearrange furniture, remove his shoes, leave food and beverage messes on lounge furniture and sleep, often snoring loudly. He also created an odor in the general vicinity of his person. Vincent creates a scene when he does sleep making a mess with his food, leaving items unattended, and being verbally aggressive with anyone who may approach him. • What possible violations do you see? What policies in your current Code would help you adjudicate this case?

14. Vincent (Continued) • Vincent had a meeting with the conduct officer initially for trespassing in a building on campus after hours. After repeated conversations with Vincent about modifying his behavior, the behavior continued. • Several offices are complaining to the Conduct Officers about the nuisance that Vincent is becoming, saying that it deters from the professionalism the institution is trying to portray and makes community members uncomfortable. • What sanctions can you think of that would be appropriate in this situation? What other factors can/should be considered? • Housing options • Discomfort factor • Status • Social norm

15. Vincent (Continued) • Characteristics of Vincent • Pride • Independence • Entitlement • Extensive criminal history • A student in paralegal program • Homeless

16. Vincent (Continued) • As time went on, Vincent was contacted by police dozens of times, going through multiple court proceedings for trespassing. He continues to ignore directives from the court and from the institution. He has said to the conduct officer “there is nothing more you can do to me.” And he continues to violate multiple policies. • What else can be done?

17. Actual Outcome of Case

18. Case Study #2 • Matthew

19. Matthew • Matthew is a non-traditional, self-identified homeless student who lost his construction job because of chronic back pain. He then turned to alcohol and ended up in the streets. His criminal history is relatively small but has disturbances of the peace, contempt of court, and public intoxication. • He is an A/B student who never took school seriously in his life. He says he doesn’t know what he wants to study so he has taken multiple courses since 2011. He is well-liked by other students and instructors. He practices personal hygiene and utilizes the rec center showers. • He first came into contact with the conduct office when he attempted to enter campus in the middle of the night while stumbling and intoxicated. He had finished a ‘gig’ playing music for a local bar where they paid him in beer. He was placed on probation status. • Does it matter if: • Hygiene • Contrition • What policies/sanctions in your code would apply in this situation?

20. Matthew (Continued) • Matthew considers himself a spokesperson for the campus homeless population. • Matthew has multiple police contact when concerned students and community members call the campus police when they see Matthew walking around with his large hiking bag equipped with his sleeping bag and chair. Community member reported that he makes them uncomfortable and deters from the professional image the campus is trying to portray. • Matthew came in contact with the conduct office again when he was contacted again by the police because a custodial member was feeling intimidated when Matthew asked her for his chair. He had left it in the hallway overnight but couldn’t find it the next day. The staff member took that to be threatening and called her supervisor who then called the police. • Matthew admits to sleeping on campus but strives to use the lockers and spaces within policy and does not make a ‘mess’ like Vincent. He said most homeless students do not get along with Vincent because he gives them a bad name. Additionally, Matthew believes the college homeless students do a great job policing themselves and they’re often the ones calling the police when something is wrong on campus. • What sanctions/resources would you recommend in this case?

21. Matthew (Continued) • Characteristics of Matthew • Non-traditional student • A/B student • Frequent visitor to resources in Student Life office • Well-liked

22. Case Comparison • How are these cases the same? • How do they feel different?

23. Implications/considerations • Communication • Mental health resources • Policies – how to adjudicate? • Sanctioning – who funds it? • Chemical Dependency issues? • Compassion • What else can you see?

24. Contact Us • Meloni S. Rudolph Dean of Student Life Community College of Denver meloni.rudolph@ccd.edu • Jake Kasper Director of Student Conduct Community College of Denver jake.kasper@ccd.edu

25. REferences • http://columbiachronicle.com/homeless-students-invisible-on-college-campuses/ • Joy, D., Baca, R., Millican, B., Ragusa, M., Taylor, A., Vitervo, A. & Walker, D. (2011). Homelessness and housing challenges in the community college population, final results and recommendations. Presented at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association,Washington, D.C. • Housing and Urban Development, Department of (2012). National alliance to end homelessness. Retrieved from http://www.endhomelessness.org/library/entry/changes-in-the-hud-definition-of-homeless • Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(370-396). • Maslow, A.H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. • Maslow, A.H. (1962). Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nos/Trand Reinhold Company. • Wills, T.A. (1981). Downward comparison principles in social psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 90,2, 245-271. • http://www.ccd.edu/ccd.nsf/html/WEBB9CZCV7-CCD+Psi+Beta+Wins+National+Awards • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-tirado/why-poor-peoples-bad-decisions-make-perfect-sense_b_4326233.html