California Wants To Allow College Kids To Sleep In Their Cars, What Could Go Wrong?

California is nearly unrivaled in its capacity to create problems. Furthermore, the state often compounds these issues by proposing even worse solutions. I hesitate to call them “solutions” because that suggests they actually resolve or improve the problems, which is far from the truth in California and other blue states. The Democratic leadership in California tends to exacerbate every problem they create and frequently introduces new problems instead of finding practical solutions.

For example, California Assemblyman Corey Jackson, a Democrat, introduced a bill to allow certain college students in the state to live in their cars more easily on campus parking lots. The bill would apply to five California State University (CSU) system locations and twenty California Community Colleges (CCC). A report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office indicated that nearly half a million students from CCC experienced homelessness in 2023.

At a hearing last year, Jackson made this claim:

“While emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long-term housing solution.”

Huh?

Did Jackson actually say that? Does he honestly believe living out of their car anywhere “will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long-term housing solution?”

Instead of requiring students to remain in their vehicles off-campus, which Jackson argued may be uncomfortable or unsafe, the program aims to provide them with a secure location to live in their cars. Jackson emphasized that this is not a long-term solution, but rather an immediate response for those struggling to afford the skyrocketing rent prices in the state.

Jackson’s bill, which was approved by the Assembly Higher Education committee last month along party lines, aims to address the housing crisis currently facing college students in California. The legislation requires that pilot parking programs be initiated by July 2025, allowing homeless college students to park on campus and live in their vehicles.

Nothing to see here. Just a bunch of bored and restless college students living out of their cars on school property. No showers, and limited, if any, bathroom facilities. No adequate place to study or rest, this sounds ideal.

Is it just me, or can anyone else foresee some significant issues? I don’t want to be negative, but I see tempers flaring with arguments and fights breaking out. I see cars being damaged as well as school property being broken into for shelter and relief from the cramped quarters of the cars. Under these close circumstances will women be taken advantage of and possibly raped? Will some of the fights escalate to murder? And if these crimes do occur, will the school be held legally responsible?

California politicians are too preoccupied with radical leftist issues, causing effective governance to suffer. The housing crisis is a pressing reality for college students across the state; according to the Hope Center and the California Community Colleges (CCC), 19 percent of students have experienced homelessness, and 60 percent have felt housing insecurity. Additionally, around 30 percent of students are fully responsible for their housing expenses. Over the past decade, student homelessness has risen by 48 percent, according to the University of California, Los Angeles.

The proposal has been met with skepticism from the Community College League of California (CCC). Nune Garipian, the CCC’s policy and advocacy manager, expressed concerns to lawmakers during a hearing on the bill last year. Garipian highlighted several housing services that community colleges already offer to students, including hotel vouchers, rental subsidies, and rehousing programs. She raised worries that the bill could redirect funds away from these essential existing programs.

“Establishing an overnight student parking program would require significant financial and administrative resources to ensure that students have a safe, clean, and secure place to sleep at night. Our colleges, unfortunately, just do not have these resources available.”

Long Beach Community College (LBCC), which has more than 40,000 students and no on-campus housing, conducted a trial run of a proposal in 2022 after discovering that over 70 of their students lived in their cars. Despite the challenges, the school tried to address this pressing issue.

LBCC’s Safe Parking Program, which costs $200,000 to launch and maintain, was explicitly designed for students without children or spouses. The program allowed these students to stay in a campus parking structure seven nights a week from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Amenities included Wi-Fi access, restrooms, and campus showers, which were available daily from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

The program was conducted in collaboration with Safe Parking LA, which offers secure overnight parking for individuals living in their vehicles. The campus police office managed security measures.

LBCC’s superintendent-president, Mike Muñoz, faced housing problems during his college years, often finding himself with nowhere to sleep except the front seat of his car. Muñoz shared with Politico that by 2028, the school plans to offer 422 housing beds on campus. However, some students cannot afford to wait until that time.

“I know what that feels like,” Muñoz told the outlet. “For us it was looking at the data in that moment and saying, ‘Hey, we know 70 students with real names and ID numbers that are sleeping in their cars.’”

Republican California Representative Vince Fong represents a district that includes CSU Bakersfield and Bakersfield Community College, which could offer the overnight parking service outlined in Jackson’s bill.

Fong told the Daily Caller News Foundation:

“Proposals to allow college students to sleep in their cars is a symptom of a housing crisis that is hurting students and everyday Californians. This is a consequence of policy failures coming from a liberal agenda that refuses to allow for the building of more housing, further worsening California’s affordability crisis. In dealing with a growing housing and homelessness emergency, California doesn’t need more parking lots; we need real solutions that cut red tape and end frivolous litigation so we can unleash housing development and build real roofs with real beds.”

Democrats like Governor Gavin Newsom, Senators Adam Schiff and Adam Padilla, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, to name a few, have created a legacy of failure in California. Pricing is out of control as liberal agendas have taken precedence over reality.

Looking for parking lots so students can sleep in their cars is a dangerous band-aid to put on a real-time problem. It is not a solution; it barely qualifies as a rational thought.

Democrats are poisoning the well of life in California, and until voters rid themselves of their liberal burden, decisions like this will continue to be made. To those students who can’t afford a roof over their heads, I wish you luck.

Night, Night, Sleep Tight, Don’t Let your neighbors fight,

But If They Fight Before You Wake, Find Another Parking Space.