As housing crisis rages, one CSU fines students for sleeping in campus parking lots
Good morning. It’s Friday, Dec. 1. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- The housing crisis playing out in one CSU’s parking lots
- 4 takeaways from the Newsom-DeSantis debate on Fox News
- 15 things to do in San Pedro
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
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The housing crisis playing out in one CSU’s parking lots
Some people seeking degrees in California’s two- and four-year colleges face a stark choice: pay for tuition or pay for housing. For many students, that means attending classes by day and sleeping in cars, vans or RVs at night.
Times higher education reporter Debbie Truong spoke with Cal Poly Humboldt students who formed a community while staying in the G11 parking lot on their campus.
“They shared resources: propane tanks to heat their living quarters, ovens to cook meals,” Debbie wrote. “They helped one another seal leaky roofs and formed an official campus club aiming to secure a mailing address. They felt safe.”
But that sense of security was shattered in late October by a letter from campus administrators. The gist: overnight camping is prohibited, so move or risk getting your vehicle towed and disciplinary action. The episode has drawn backlash and renewed debate over California’s high housing costs.
Some students moved to different parking lots and tried to keep a lower profile, but found citations on their windshields in November.
School officials sent a campus-wide email, saying parking lot camping “creates unsanitary and unsafe conditions for both those encamped and for our campus community at large.”
The university’s sociology department responded with a letter calling out school officials for enforcing a policy they said “criminalizes” students and serves to intimidate them into leaving campus.
The student-led University Senate also passed a resolution that urged school officials to cease enforcement for the rest of the semester and explore safe parking options moving forward.
Some of the students who live in their vehicles reached out to school officials, hoping to discuss their situation, but some of those officials refused to meet with them.
“We’re putting everything we have into our education in order to be here,” student Maddy Montie told Debbie. “For them to just keep putting all of this added pressure onto us just seems really unnecessarily cruel.”
The tension at Cal Poly Humboldt highlights how “low-income California State University students determined to earn a college degree struggle to meet their basic needs amid the state’s student affordable housing crisis,” Debbie explained. That crisis also extends beyond the CSU system.
A 2020 report from UCLA breaks down just how many students experience homelessness while working toward a degree:
- One in five California community college students (20%).
- One in 10 CSU students (10%).
- One in 20 UC students (5%).
That adds up to hundreds of thousands of students struggling to find housing at over a hundred campuses across the state. A report published by the Cal State system last year found nearly 33,000 students lacked housing assistance they needed.
Cal Poly Humboldt had 2,069 beds available on campus in 2022, per the report, and more than 5,800 students enrolled last fall.
As at many other campuses, the housing situation at Humboldt is exacerbated by a lack of housing in the surrounding area. Debbie notes that the city of Arcata, where Cal Poly Humboldt is located, is dealing with its own housing and shelter crises.
“Plans are underway to ease the strain on students,” she reported. “By fall 2025, Cal Poly Humboldt plans to build more on-campus dorms and apartments, increasing the number of available beds by 1,250.”
But cost could remain an issue and the students of G11 will have to find a solution sooner.
“I can’t afford to pay $1,500, $900 a month and work and then do a STEM degree,” Carrie White, a student who lived in the lot, said. “I can’t afford it.”
You can read more of her reporting on Humboldt students’ struggle to get through college while unhoused in this subscriber exclusive.
Today’s top stories
Takeaways from the Newsom-Desantis debate
- The debate showed the California governor is all in for Biden.
- DeSantis slammed L.A. County D.A. George Gascón
- It was heat and not much light, Mark Z. Barabak writes.
- The debate offered major upsides for the governors.
- 4 more takeaways.
Michael Latt’s killing
- The woman charged in Michael Latt killing had stalked and threatened a film director, records show
- Latt, a marketing consultant and social justice advocate with strong ties to Hollywood, died Monday after a woman entered his home and shot him in the head, law enforcement sources told The Times.
Politics
- Newsom and DeSantis both promote freedom in education. But their focus is wildly different.
- L.A. will switch to independent redistricting if voters approve in the 2024 election.
- Newsom wants to target dealers trafficking in xylazine, a sedative known as “tranq” that’s authorized only for veterinary use but is frequently mixed with fentanyl and has been detected in overdose deaths.
Bronny James
- Bronny James was cleared to return to basketball; LeBron called it ‘a proud moment.’
- Bronny had collapsed suddenly during practice in July
More big stories
- Gov. Newsom’s CARE Court program is launching Friday in L.A. County, where officials estimate 4,500 people could be enrolled in the first year.
- UCLA’s John Wooden left his stamp on college basketball. Now he’s getting a postage stamp.
- The top tickets for the first Biden Hollywood fundraiser since the end of the strikes approach $1 million.
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Commentary and opinions
- Anita Chabria: Pedophile panic and coming political violence. What the Paul Pelosi case revealed.
- Michael Hiltzik: Is America cheating its children to subsidize old people? Refuting a common falsehood.
- Robin Abcarian: Trump’s plan to subvert American democracy is on the record. Will Republican voters care?
- Editorial board: Another court decision weakens the Voting Rights Act. Will the Supreme Court right this wrong?
- JP Brammer: Melissa Barrera showed solidarity with Palestinians. Hollywood showed its persistent double standard.
- Sammy Roth: Next Thanksgiving, Smokey Bear should talk about climate change.
Today’s great reads
How L.A.’s atheists work out ‘how to be a good human?’ It starts with an unexpected adventure. Atheist Adventures offers non-believers in Los Angeles and beyond the opportunity to experience wonder and awe in the most inspiring places in the West.
Other great reads
- Two strangers — a Palestinian and an Israeli — tell the story of a region’s pain
- Ella Fitzgerald never stopped moving. That’s how the jazz singer became an icon.
- I’m politically neutral as a journalist. Should I be neutral as a Mexican?
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 🚶 Here are 15 things to do in San Pedro.
- 🎭 Not another jukebox musical, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ artfully reimagines Alicia Keys’ songs.
- 🩰 8 productions of ‘The Nutcracker’ that’ll twirl you into the holiday spirit.
- 🫔 Party like it’s summer, eat like the holidays with Bésame Mucho, a tamale festival in O.C.
Staying in
- 📺 Review: Here comes Eddie Murphy, right down ‘Candy Cane Lane’ with a mixed bag of a holiday film streaming on Prime Video.
- 🔊 The 10 essential Shane MacGowan songs
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for quinoa salad with shiitakes, fennel and cashews.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
And finally ... a great photo
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Today’s great photo is from staff photographer Mariah Tauger of stylist Tess Herbert, who never underdresses, at Costume Palace.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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