Staff Reports
In California, there is a new bill being proposed by a Democratic assembly member that is raising more than a few eyebrows. The idea here is that rather than solving the state’s housing crisis, they want to allow homeless college students to sleep in their cars on campus. Yes, you heard that correctly! Instead of tackling the high costs associated with attending college, they want to create a “parking lot hotel” for students who can’t find affordable housing. It might be cute in theory, but in practice, it sounds more like a plan hatched from a bad sitcom.
The plan suggests developing an overnight parking program with some basic amenities like restrooms and campus security. However, how comforting is it really to have campus security watching over your cramped car while you try to catch some Z’s? It’s a little hard to “study hard, play hard” when your dorm room is a Ford Fiesta. The irony here is perfect: college tuition keeps climbing, yet the solution to sky-high housing costs is to turn parking lots into places for families of Toyotas instead of homes.
It’s like handing out participation trophies but for living conditions! Instead of tackling the core issues driving the housing crisis — like excessive regulations, high taxes, and well-intentioned policies gone awry — lawmakers are patting themselves on the back for this “solution.” Students get to skip the costly dorms and live in the parking lot like it’s the latest trend in minimalist living. Just imagine the social media posts, “Living that car life #StudentStyle!” Who wouldn’t want to brag about that?
Critics argue that allowing students to live in their cars is simply a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound. It showcases the failure of California’s housing policies without providing any real solutions. Instead of knocking down the barriers that make housing unattainable, politicians seem content to let these students camp out in their vehicles while ignoring the root of the problem. If you think about it, it would fit perfectly within the larger pattern of “progressive” policies that promise much but deliver little.
Some folks even jest that if living in a car is the norm, why not go all in? Why not make those clunky old vans your personal Airbnb? Park it near the beach and call it home—at least until it’s towed away! Sure, someone could even set up to sell hot coffee and donuts to sleepy students. If life gives you lemons, right? But is this really what we want to aspire to—cheap, temporary solutions for a serious crisis rather than meaningful change?
These amusing scenarios paint a larger picture of a failing system. Instead of empowering students for their future, this policy just circles back to the idea that living in a car is somehow acceptable. Everyone deserves a stable home, not just a parking spot. After all, isn’t it about time that lawmakers focus their energies on affordable housing rather than giving the green light to make “camping out” a preferred living arrangement? It’s time they rolled up their sleeves and did the real work instead of parking the issue on the back burner!
