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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1993)
I STIDhTLIH SUPREME SACRDICE v Homeless students see degree as hex to future T whu h hr iui kctl al ihr t« « >tiul! st.ulmrn s I £ ■ * ■ i Kara Beach, with her ton. Dane, struggles to earn a college degree and a secure future. Carol Bntnor doesn't have room male problems She doesn't have to haggle with a landlord about lenl \lid vhr doe Mil have to hue parking hassles Bin then Hrunor. a Mudrnt at Oregon Stair 1 . (lorin'l have a house rilhri She’s homeless And she’s not alone Homeless i ollege students ai ross the country are sleeping in lampus buildings or shimlwi mg in their i ais Itei ause dies < an t afford a plai e lo live Although the nunilier of homeless stu dents is likrlv small, and dies won't appeal on a census re|>ort, the rn ession appears to have mi leased the numbers ol students vsho regard a tool over then brails to lie a luxury they < an t afford. Jobs lo help pay for college-related rx|>rnsrs air harder lo find when unem ployment is high Kurd willi budget mis at the stale level, many public universities have Inked tuition drastically And finan i tal aid < .nil es ir|x >rt increased tiemanil fi >r finam lal aid, esjx-i tally from students who are unemployed and returning to college to get a degr ee To some, tuition and rent are Ix-toming an “ritber-or" proposition In Florida, the problem seems more acute During the winter the homeless population increases as people move in from out-ol-state. But ill 1991. C.arrie Meek, now a con gresswoman from Florida, sponsored an amendment that exempts homeless stu dents enrolled ill adult basil or job preparatory education from paving fees for instruction. The amendment passed. " 1 he problem is worse here, but we re more aware of it," savs (ieorge Young, su e president for Student Affairs at Broward ('ommunitv ( ollrge in Florida hoi hiunoc, K was tin second iiv at graduating from Oregon Stair ITiirtv two vrais was a long timr t«> Ik- out of v bool Shr saved some money for tuition, and she- thought shr could get a part time job to take* tare of food and housing And mavbr shr < ould grt finam tal aid But shr didn’t find a good job, and sfir wasn't eligible foi financial aid When het money ran out, shr slept at the library. cafe* teruor the Native American long Home "Most of us air aware that having a col lege degree gets 11s a !x*ttrt job," Brunoe sa\s " some j>eople are determined to t hange then lives " whit h hr }>af kr*<I at ihr *mull stadium When thr weather m»t told. Mrrrall »t tit k and had t«> go t<» thr Mudrni health center Ihr housing dim tor Irt him sia\ in a dormitory lot two weeks and pav lot hr* stav later * Hum oiuimiintv nerds to Im* a ware that thrrr air people who air less fortunate," Mrtt.dl sav* Ihr levs form ii.itr j nerd rieopk* to dim t them Mmall should finish 111* degree I repute mrnt* within a vrai 'I'm going to Ik hi a {MKMtlon where* lutii alls I t an wi itr inv own tit krt \t least in rnv view. it *s worth it," hr uvs “ Hu* is what lilr dealt mr, and guess what ' K ill not going to Im* a « r\hah\ and give in l have the skill* to get out of this OSI s President |ohn livi nr *a\s hi* uni vriMtv is not set up to help homeless Mil drills “ I hats not to sav thrir air no homeless stude nts,” hr suss Tin suir thrrr air some- who, foi tinam lal irawmv live m thru mu k.v" Somr universities, howrvri. take a inoir active rolr in helping thr homeless Suffolk l m Boston is 111 its thiol seal of administering a scholarship ptogiam lot thr homeless students " 1 hr program is working fair l> well.” sav s ( hi is Pet i s. dim tor of Kinam tal Aid But the kind of help Suffolk give* to it* home It*** students is not available at most universities Student* like- Alan, a Stanford l senior, made his 1*JH<» I oyota his home for a \eai lie fxiughi a $r>0 Stanford park trig prrinii and vised $0,000 in flouting Arnold. a student at (hr l of ( alifornia. li>* Angrlrs. slept in his f ord Probe to save time, money and thr inconvenience of traveling hac k and forth to his home Although these two students « hoar to 1** homelrxs, using c osts of tuition are making those* choices more prevalent for the many students who must depend on lit unit ral aid Kara Heath hope* a college degree will help her a< hievr her dreams as well. Beach. 20, lias a S-vrar old son, Dane htunoe was strapped for (asli during fall 1991 and spring 1992. "Hall thr liar I gol ineompietes because I didn’t have enough money to bus books ot notepaper," she uu Her frientfs (sought food al die caic teria, ate vime and then said dies weren't hungry anymore. * Iliev werr trying to save my pride." she vavs. She could not ailord to rent a place. v> she staved on campus after tfie buildings closed al 9 p.m. "You see. what you <lo is hule until everybody is gone and then crawl in somewhere amigo to sleep." she savs Among favored hangouts of homeless students are libraries .uul student lounges, which stav open late. Some students, tlmugh. make do with wtiatrvcr's available fal Meirall slept in his ear (fairing die tall of 1991. Merrall. a senior m fish and wildlife science at OSl', lived in Ins 1977 Scout, Stir lives m an apartment provided In llir Volunteers of Ament a in Spokane Bui (nr four or five months in 199!. Bea< h bounced arounrl lietwcen tin mother's home and those of friends "1 rorne lroin a dvxfum iioiial fainitv." she savs There was a lot of stress at home " After getting a GKO. stie enrolled in September 1991 at Spokane falls (aimmunilv Caillege An fnglisti major. I feat h gets hy with grants ,m(| fmam lal aid She is doing well in college, her gr ade |m nut aserage [waking at 'VH Being homelevs lirought on an array of problems. Beai h spent day* wondering where she would sleep next. Beach’s hard times are not over. Strrvs remains in her life, even though she lias a plarr to sleep now "I'm not reads homeless." she vox. Tin misplaced." U UTDMwnmry, U. of Texas, Dallas Tell About You! 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