For many college students, academics are an afterthought.
And it’s not because they’re bent on partying or other socializing.
It’s all about survival.
According to several recent surveys, around one in five — or about 400,000 — California community college students has experienced homelessness in the last year. Thousands more are at risk of becoming homeless.
Calling that number “shocking, alarming and tragic,” Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, on Tuesday outlined a new bill — AB 302 — that would force community colleges to allow homeless students to sleep inside their vehicles in campus parking lots overnight.
“Shame on us if we turn our backs on these students and choose to ignore them,” Berman told reporters in Sacramento.
While acknowledging the state’s long-term need for more affordable housing, the assemblyman said homeless students need help right now. In 2016, the state passed a law requiring the colleges to give homeless students access to campus shower facilities.
“This bill is the next logical step,” Berman said. “We should do everything we can to make their situation a little better.”