America is still shutting its eyes to the homeless crisis
Danielle Hermey
Staff Writer
The crisis of the homeless has
not been officially addressed as
one of our nation's priorities; the
plight of the homeless in Amer
ica has only magnified in the past
few years. At present it is esti
mated that three million Ameri
cans do not have homes. More
women, children and young men
arc finding it harder to meet their
The Housing Now! march in Washington: A call to action
Laurel Nesbitt
Editorials Editor
Those who have been bombarded this
week with literature and urgent pleas to
Editor-in-Chief Jason Underwood
News Editor Peter Smith
Features Editor Eric Badertscher
Editorials Editor Laurel Nesbitt
Sports Editor Scott Genualdi
Photo Editor Charles Almy
Copy Editor David Simpson
Layout Editor Jacob Stohler
Business Manager Anna Yeargin
Staff Coordinator Linda Kreem
Faculty Advisor Jeff Jeske
Assistant Copy Editor Laura Seel
Assistant Layout Editor Betsy Vance
Advertising Director Martha McCoy
Staff:
Joyce Atkinson, Eliza Blake, Andrew Bloom, Lisa Boggs, Dena Bolton, Laura
Brooks, Carolyn Bundy, Alex Clay, Kathy Corcoran, Leah Cunningham, Eric
Dawson, Allison Dean, Alexandra Duckworth, Sara Ellefson, Christie Evens,
Mandi Ford, Danielle Hermey, E.J. Hofferman, Doug James, Dara Jacob, Vic
Johnson, Anne Jonas, Seth Jurnak, Elise Lillard, Paige Mahaney, Butch Maier,
Brywn Malbasa, Laura Marshall, Troy Martin, Randall Moore, Laura Myers,
Cory Schwartz, Andy Smith, Joe Studivant, Ted Talcott, Kristi Wachowiak, and
Eugene Wan
The Guilfordian is the student newspaper of Guilford College, Greensboro,
N.C. Mailing information can be obtained through The Guilfordian's office.
Submitted articles are welcome. The editor(s) reserves the editorial licence to
The Guilfordian staff. Please address all mail to: The Guilfordian, Box 17717,
Greensboro, NC 27410.
2
THE GUILFORDIAN September 18,1989
monthly rents or mortgage pay
ments and to feed themselves.
As a result they are forced to face
life on the streets, in constant
search of homeless shelters and
soup kitchens.
Why is this happening? The
most basic explanation is that
land, mortgage money, materi
als, operating expenses, etc. are
rising faster than the incomes of
lower income Americans. Fur
thermore, low income housing is
not profitable for construction
contractors.
march on Washington, D.C. with the
Housing Now! coalition are to be bom
barded further.
The Housing Now! coalition is endorsed
by nearly one hundred different organiza
tions, ranging from Greenpeace U.S.A. to
the National Student Campaign Against
PERSPECTIVES
The percentages of homeless
people with physical and mental
problems is now decreasing, and
the percentages of homeless
families without the income nec
essary to afford housing is in
creasing. Forty years ago, the
alcoholic male embodied Amer
ica's conception of the homeless.
Now, in many cases, alcoholism
is recognized as a result of the
homeless situation rather than a
cause of the situation. Private
urban renewal, so called gentrifi
cation, has been moving tens of
thousands of units from lower
rent status to luxury housing or
ownership status as condomini
ums. People simply don't have
the money to rent or buy the
housing that is on the market.
Every night, according to 1988
estimates by the National Acad
emy of Sciences, 100,000 chil
dren go to sleep homeless. By
the year 2000, if current trends
continue, millions of American
children will have spent at least
part of their childhoods without a
place to call home.
Hunger and Homelessness. It is a coali
tion formed specifically to rally in Wash
ington, D.C. on October 7. People from
across the nation will be travelling to D.C.
to unite in a peaceful demonstration of
their common concern for the homeless in
America.
Guilford College is organizing a group
of students to participate in this historic
event, joining the 22 busloads of North
Carolinians already planning to march.
Cost of the round trip bus ticket to Wash
ington is S2B. Some students are planning
to find their own means of transportation;
however, parking is limited and nearly
impossible for this particular weekend in
the Capitol. Students are encouraged to
spare themselves some of the hassle of
parking while sharing in this unique bus
extravaganza with many other Guilford
students and (hopefully) faculty.
Buses for Washington will be leaving
Treading lightly on Mother Earth
My feet are cushioned by the dampened earth as I walk through Guilford's woods.
The trees hovering above make my pathway dark, except for a few breaks of sunshine
through the canopy of leaves. These trees whisper stories to me about people who have
walked before me, and those who have yet to come. I realize I am not the first to enjoy
the woods and will not be the last. For the extent of my stroll these woods become m ine
entirely. Every so often my solitude is interrupted by a playful shout or rolling laughter
travelling from a distance. They are welcome noises that remind me of m y need for other
human beings.
People have been around for a long time; however, the trees have been here longer.
see WALK on page 3 >-
There is no simple solution to
the injustices that the homeless
suffer. However, the first step in
changing the injustice is by pro
viding affordable housing. Ev
ery child deserves to be given a
chance, a chance to learn, grow,
and mature in a stable home with
life's basic necessities. For mil
lions of hornless adults todays,
there is little hope. With changes
in housing affordability in the
future and efforts of the Housing
Now! coalition, these children
will have a chance.
from the college on Friday, October 6 at
around midnight and will be returning to
Greensboro late Saturday night. The
marchers will leave the Pentagon at 10
a.m. Saturday and will rally on the mall at
noon.
Those who are interested in participat
ing in the march but have not yet signed up
still have the opportunity to do so. A
meeting will be held for all interested
persons on Thursday, September 21 at
8:00 p.m. at Hilacbrandt House.
Come march with us to voice your
concerns for the abominable injustice of
homclessness. Housing Now!
••• • •
For more information (or to confirm bus
reservations) contact Laurel Nesbitt at
P.O. Box 17443 or Danielle Hermey at
854-3247, P.O. Box 17247. Bus reserva
tions must be confirmed in the last week of
September.
Brywn Malbasa
Staff Writer