More on the rural(ish) housing crisis, this time for students in far northern California

Debbie Truong reported for the Los Angeles Times last week from Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, population 19,000 (but part of the Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna metropolitan area).  The headline is "Cal Poly Humboldt students live in vehicles to afford college.  They were ordered off campus."  Here's the lede, which is powerful indeed: 

Maddy Montiel and Brad Butterfield marveled at the community they found this semester at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Montiel, an environmental science major, and Butterfield, a journalism major, had lived in their vehicles for several years, the only way, they said, that they could afford to attend college. They usually found parking in campus lots or on nearby streets.

But the pair and about 15 others like them — students living in sedans, aging campers, a converted bus, who could afford a $315 annual parking permit but not rent — found one another on campus parking lot G11. They started parking together in a row of spaces and named their community “the line.” They shared resources: propane tanks to heat their living quarters, ovens to cook meals. They helped one another seal leaky roofs and formed an official campus club aiming to secure a mailing address.

They felt safe. 

“None of us have ever had something like that before,” said Montiel, 27. “People who live like this don’t really congregate, and try to stay out of view.”

Then the notices arrived late last month. The university was going to enforce a campus policy, written into parking regulations, that prohibits overnight camping. Remove vehicles by noon on Nov. 12, or they could be towed and students could face disciplinary action, the letter said.

Montiel and Butterfield moved their vehicles to another campus parking lot, hoping the university would back down if they became less visible. They found two spots under redwood trees at the edge of campus. Others from G11 scattered, driven back into hiding.

On the morning of Nov. 13, several students who stayed at G11 and other campus lots awoke to discover parking violations on their windshields, a $53 fine for living overnight in their vehicles, $40 for those whose vehicles were too large for one spot.

The actions by Humboldt — defended by university officials as necessary for health and safety — provide an up-close look at 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.

Prior posts about Cal Poly Humboldt are here, here and here.  A Lost Coast Outpost story about Cal Poly Humbolt's housing crisis is here.  Prior posts about greater Eureka are here (housing crisis), here (drug crisis) and here (bad behavior by law enforcement).   Posts by a former student who grew up in Humboldt are here and here.     

A few days ago (and a week after Truong's story ran) the Los Angeles Times editorial board published this, "Homeless college students just need safe parking overnight.  How tough can that be?"

Here's another Los Angeles Times story about a student housing crisis, this one in Santa Cruz.  This story is related, also partly about the Santa Cruz situation.  Here's the Wall Street Journal's story about the Santa Cruz housing crisis and its impact on students.  Students at UC Santa Barbara have also faced housing crises in recent years.  

Postscript from Dec. 7, 2023:  Santa Cruz is the state's least affordable housing market.