U. police remove homeless couple from campus balcony

Robert Davenport and Christine Morgan claim they have lived on campus for five years. But on Sunday, University police removed the homeless couple from the Class of 1920 Commons fire escape that had been their home for several weeks, according to Davenport. "They just threw it all away," Morgan said, referring to the possessions she and her mate had accumulated on that balcony. A mattress was among the things that came flying off the balcony towards the dumpsters below. The couple said they were told that they were only allowed to keep what they could carry. "Why can't we just sleep out here?" Morgan questioned. The couple said they tried to respect the students who eat at the 1920 Commons and the University employees who run it by leaving well before breakfast and not returning until after dinner. One of the three University police officers who removed them said it was a "major non-incident." University Lieutenant Susan Holmes said the department had received numerous complaints about homeless people from building administrators around the campus. She could not say, however, whether any of the complaints had been about this particular couple. "Homeless people have not been banned from the campus," Holmes said. She added that the homeless are not permitted to set up permanent dwellings on University property. The homeless often create a hazard to the public safety, she said. Both the University and the University Police provide services to the homeless, including access to a shelter. And one meal a day is provided, Holmes added.. Davenport and Morgan said they live by doing odd jobs, collecting welfare benefits and food stamps and finding discarded hoagies and tacos behind Wawa. They also make sugar water. Davenport said he worked for the city of Philadelphia for eight years, in the Sanitation and Highways departments, and that he was "laid off" for budgetary reasons.

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