Never too old or too poor to learn

Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005 | 7:50 a.m.

William Cole raised his hand in a UNLV political science class with a question about whistle-blower laws.

But asking a good question toward the end of a discussion about ethics in research was not what made Cole stick out among the 11 students.

Apart from being the only one over 30 -- he's 64 -- Cole is homeless.

The Grizzly Adams-bearded student has lived in vacant lots, sleeping in old cars or under the stars, for 15 years. His deeply lined face and leathery hands show the wear of the wind and high and low temperatures.

And his decadelong odyssey toward the goal of a bachelor's degree in political science illustrates how the old chestnut about getting an education to get a good job and a nice place to live may not always be as straightforward as all that.

Donald Whitehead, former director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said the obstacles to the homeless getting a degree are many, and the rewards are not always immediate.

"It's pretty hard to buckle down and study if your place of dwelling is an underpass," he said.

Whitehead, who now works at a homeless shelter in Alexandria, Va., said that everything from purchasing books to getting into a library for time to study are complicated by homelessness.

"He's unique -- I've never seen anything like this," said Jerry Simich, a UNLV associate professor of political science, who has taught Cole and talks with him frequently.

Simich, understating the obvious, said Cole's studies have "not been easy."

His 10 years at the university include taking time off more than once -- not to travel or follow other pursuits, but to spend time in jail after being arrested for littering or trespassing, or in court to regain his possessions after being rousted from a lot.

The daunting obstacles that homelessness brings with it for those trying to get out of the street are symbolized by Cole's page-and-a-half transcript, a summary of his career as a student.

His grades run from A to F, but most of the F's were when he was swept from the lot that he stayed at before the place he lives now, Cole says.

Another distraction has been a court case -- one in which he represented himself and still has not been decided -- over having thousands of dollars of mining equipment taken from a lot where he stayed.

Cole said he has spent his life mining for gold, a profession he called chasing "an elusive mistress."

Never earning more than enough to survive is what prompted him to study, but his original intentions of becoming a lawyer changed when his homelessness led him to spend years butting up against the legal system, he said.

"I didn't know the legal community was so corrupt," he said. "I don't want to be a part of that."

Now, after years of being propped up financially with student loans and federal Pell Grants, he's months away from earning his degree, and says he wants to be a substitute teacher when he graduates.

Cole said he did not know how much financial help he had received to study.

"I just fill out the forms and visit the offices and then forget about it," he said.

Patrick McTee, UNLV's director of student financial services, said there were no special grants that he knew of to help the homeless or senior citizens.

The Pell Grant, he said, can offer $4,000-plus per academic year for full-time students and half that for half-time students.

The six credits Cole is taking make him a half-time student and cost about $750 per semester, he said.

As he nears possible graduation, Cole is working on his first paper about homelessness for a research-methods class.

Kenneth Fernandez, assistant professor of political science, said his class's term paper assignment is based on reviewing the literature on a subject, "finding holes" in the literature and designing a study to fill those holes.

"He (Cole) came to me and said, 'I don't want to do a top-down approach and interview the mayor and different officials. I want to approach it from the bottom up,' " Fernandez said.

Fernandez said it is not unique to have a student research a subject that comes from personal experience, citing the case of a biker who studied the sociology of bikers.

"You study what you know," he said.

But he said he had never taught a homeless student, adding that Cole's "lifestyle would allow him access" that could improve his term paper.

Cole said he had not seen many studies so far done by "homeless (people) walking around among 'em."

The hardest thing about being homeless all these years, he said, is "having the suppression all the time ... whether from the police, or code enforcement, or somebody."

Looking toward the moment when he finishes the paper, completes his last class and gets his hands on the coveted diploma, he said: "I think I'll get drunk."

"Only thing I can imagine is trying to do something to get my ass out of poverty," he added, laughing.

And into a house, where he said he would like to go back to cooking, something he enjoys, especially baking. Pies.

Simich said he hopes Cole gets to that point, and sees society's response to him as part of the equation.

"People say you ought to put the homeless to work, and my point is here's someone who's gotten an education and wants to work," he said. "So they should put their money where their mouth is."

Timothy Pratt can be reached at 259-8828 or at timothy@lasvegassun.com.