Student Homelessness Meloni S Rudolph Dean of Student Life Community College of Denver melonirudolphccdedu Jake Kasper Director of Student Conduct Community College of Denver jakekasperccdedu ID: 458766
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Slide1
A multi-faceted adjudication challenge
Student Homelessness:Slide2
Meloni S. Rudolph
Dean of Student Life
Community College of Denver meloni.rudolph@ccd.eduJake Kasper Director of Student Conduct Community College of Denver jake.kasper@ccd.edu
PresentersSlide3
Urban, commuter campus
CCD (approx. 11,000 students)
Downtown DenverTri-Institutional campus (Approximately 46,000)Hispanic Serving InstitutionOpen AccessCommunity College of DenverSlide4
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).
Definition of HomelessnessSlide5
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
6.2%
“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 school9.5% have frequent absences due to insufficient housing
CCD StudySlide6
33,039
college students identified themselves as homeless in the 2010–2011 academic year.
636,000 homeless in US (HUD 2011) Denver is ranked
26
th
in the nation.
47%
low-income young adults are enrolled inhigher education(2008)National poverty level is
15% (2011)Lack of employment opportunities (recent increase)Decline in public assistance (recent increase)Lack of affordable health careDomestic violenceMental illness (25%)AddictionNational Data on Student Homelessness & Poverty
U.S. Census Bureau Poverty Thresholds, 2012
Size of Family Unit
Poverty Threshold
One person (unrelated individual)
$11,720
Under age 65
11,945
Age 65 or older
11,011
Two people
14,937
Householder under age 65
15,450
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Weighted Average Poverty Thresholds, 2012, released in September 2013.Slide7
Inspired by the CCD Psi Beta Study
Data Collection: one 60 minute interview with each participant:
AdamOscarMariaStudy of Student HomelessnessSlide8
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
A. Maslow (1943, 1954)
Downward Comparison Theory Wells (1981)Challenge and Support TheorySanford (1966)
Related TheoriesSlide9
Pride and Independence
Faith
Hope“No one knew”
FindingsSlide10
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
Interesting PiecesSlide11
How it is generalizable…
Challenge and support
Student developmentIndividual’s Needs v. Needs of CommunityLimitations – Case StudiesVincentMatthew
Implications for Conduct officersSlide12
Vincent
Case Study #1Slide13
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?
VincentSlide14
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 factorStatusSocial norm
Vincent (Continued)Slide15
Characteristics of Vincent
Pride
IndependenceEntitlementExtensive criminal historyA student in paralegal programHomeless
Vincent (Continued)Slide16
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?
Vincent (Continued)Slide17
Actual Outcome of CaseSlide18
Matthew
Case Study #2Slide19
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?
MatthewSlide20
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?
Matthew (Continued)Slide21
Characteristics of Matthew
Non-traditional student
A/B studentFrequent visitor to resources in Student Life officeWell-likedMatthew (Continued)Slide22
How are these cases the same?
How do they feel different?
Case ComparisonSlide23
Communication
Mental health resources
Policies – how to adjudicate?Sanctioning – who funds it?Chemical Dependency issues?CompassionWhat else can you see?
Implications/considerationsSlide24
Meloni S. Rudolph
Dean of Student Life
Community College of Denver meloni.rudolph@ccd.eduJake Kasper Director of Student Conduct Community College of Denver jake.kasper@ccd.edu
Contact UsSlide25
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-
homelessMaslow, 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+Awardshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-tirado/why-poor-peoples-bad-decisions-make-perfect-sense_b_4326233.html
REferences