A resolution offering support to unhoused students was recently presented to the Student Association (SA) Congress for its consideration.

The “Resolution to Address Student Homelessness at Binghamton,” proposed on March 26, will address housing insecurity among students. A National Center for Education Statistics study found that an estimated eight percent of undergraduate students have been unhoused in the past 30 days, including about five percent of graduate students. The bill was written to increase campus resource awareness and collect essential items for those in need, calling for the vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) office to bring back the Campus Sleepout, an event uniting the campus community to draw attention to the unhoused student population.

Logan Blakeslee, an off-campus representative and a senior double-majoring in history and political science, wrote and presented the resolution, highlighting the rising homelessness rates in the Southern Tier following COVID-19.

“I have met students that have dealt with this issue and have personally devoted my time and resources to helping them get back on their feet,” Blakeslee wrote in an email. “Some are lucky enough to stay with a friend for a limited period of time, while others have had to take shelter in their cars. I do not know if BU deviates significantly from the national average for college student homelessness — [about eight] percent — but until that number is zero, it demands our immediate attention.”

Reviving the campus sleepout, which was last held in 2019, would draw attention to campus resources and “make the issue of homelessness visible on our campus,” Blakeslee added. During the bill’s presentation, SA Congress members questioned why the VPMA office was named as opposed to other SA offices and decided that the event’s organization will be delegated to other members if the task is better suited to another office.

Donations to both shelters and on-campus resources will be collected at the sleepout. Shelter staff and those who have experienced homelessness will have the opportunity to share their experiences while administrators will spotlight student resources like the homeless liaison.

Blakeslee said he was inspired to continue this event at the University after working on the 2019 Annual Homeless Awareness Sleepout at SUNY Broome.

“At this event, I heard a lecture from a [United States] veteran who became homeless after his service in the Marines,” Blakeslee wrote. “He described the serious nature of the problem and the stressful decisions that homeless people must make each day in order to survive. It is tragic that many students have to endure those same conditions. I believe that the combined efforts of the student body can help alleviate the problem at a time when the cost of living is rising faster than wages can keep up with.”

Karima Legette, the University’s first homeless liaison, was appointed in August 2023 as part of a larger SUNY initiative to install liaisons in each of its 64 campuses to connect students with available resources. The new position’s purpose is to ensure students have their basic needs met, reducing the number of students living in unstable conditions who withdraw or are suspended.

“Every day I see people with carts picking up metal to redeem at Weitsman’s salvage,” Douglas Garnar, a former professor at SUNY Broome and the sleepout event’s fundraiser, wrote in an email. “People ring the bell at our church daily for food and clothing. There are multiple reasons for homelessness — addiction, spouse [or] child abuse, LGBTQ issues and even climate change — note that county has suffered two once in 500 year floods which left some people homeless and reduced housing in the area. I strongly believe that the measure of a civilization is how it treats its marginalized fellow human beings — using this metric, we are not doing very well.”