CHARISMATIC MEGAFAUNA

By Quiconque

Don't get me started
2004-04-28

HomelessAtNYU.com

Yesterday at work everyone was talking about Steve Sanzak, the NYU student who had been living in the basement of Bobst Library. When I first heard the story, delivered by the bubbleheads on the WB morning news, I was just waking up. So, in the morning fog, I thought, �Well, isn�t that heartwarming. A hard luck story with a happy ending.�

By the time I�d showered and dressed, the story had been repeated four times. And with each repetition my interest grew. I had so many questions. When I got to work I discovered I was not alone. Some of my more lucid coworkers and I formed a think tank about Sanzak�s predicament. We work in a library at a public university; so we�re obviously experts in library living and financial precariousness.

What did we decide? Sanzak is full of bunk. This was no hard-luck story. He chose to be homeless. He enjoyed being homeless. He wrote a blog about being homeless. Like Berkeley�s Naked Guy, Sanzak became a campus celebrity. Why mess with a good thing by getting an apartment?

Yes, living in New York is expensive and attending a private college is extremely expensive. Sanzak was supposedly working four jobs and received financial aid, but still could not afford the dorm deposit, primarily because his parents do not support him. (Upon hearing this, the more militant members of our think tank hissed, �Suck it up.�) I will not deny that Sanzak was faced with a tough situation. But why did he not appeal to the university? He could have attended part time, thereby cutting his tuition costs. He could have applied for an emergency loan to cover the deposit. He could have signed up for a staggered payment plan. I have not read Sanzak�s blog, but the fact that he didn�t pursue any of these solutions leads me to believe that he liked his homelessness.

Sanzak admits �my worst fear was getting kicked out of NYU. I love this school.� Perhaps this fear prevented him from asking university officials for assistance. However, Sanzak had created a fan base through his blog and had friends who would let him shower at their apartments. He wasn�t forced to shower at the school gym. You have a friend who lets you shower at his place? Then you have a friend who�ll let you sleep on the floor for $40 a week. Come on, this is the Village. There must be fifty squats within walking distance from the campus. Was there no artists� colony to which he could apply? Face it, the boy had options. He wanted to live in the library.

Maybe he was launching a protest against the inflated housing prices and exorbitant tuition costs. But the outcome of this protest (if it was a protest), a free room, does not address the very real problem that all students face. Going to NYU is costly, even with parental support. It would be interesting if Sanzak�s experience inspires the university to address the financial needs of its students in general. So far, that looks unlikely.
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