In recent weeks, the University of Denver has had a growing number of solicitors and panhandlers near campus trying to make their pitch to students and other passersby.
One of them is 34-year-old Chris Miller, who stands at the corner of University Boulevard and Evans Avenue almost every day.
Many would recognize him by his black wool hat and cardboard sign that explains his predicament. The sign tells the story of his life, one made up of sickness, unemployment and homelessness.Not long ago, Miller was diagnosed with HIV, which forced him to be hospitalized for two months. Medical bills and disease caused him to lose everything. After emerging from his time in treatment, Miller’s apartment, car and life as he knew it were gone.
“Once I got [to Denver], it became kind of a nightmare,” Miller said. “My friend started smoking crack and then he’s the one that gave me HIV. After that we separated.”
Miller refrains from drinking and only pays $11 a night for the bed he sleeps in at a motel on Broadway.
“On average I make about $20 to $30 a day,” he said. “I’m about $70 away from being able to afford an apartment.”
Although Miller has never been bothered by Campus Safety or local police, he has been harassed by DU students on one occasion. The episode occurred last Saturday night after the hockey team won its second consecutive national title.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” said Miller. “They were just drunk, yelling and cursing at me.”
Miller says that most people just seem to ignore him and his cardboard sign, but occasionally motorists roll down their car windows to hand him a bill,a couple coin, or advice to get a job.
“Some people just see what’s around them,” said Miller. “They drive by in their $100,000 cars and have no empathy or understanding of my situation.”
Although many people think that where Miller stands is part of campus, technically it is not.
“The brick sidewalks are officially DU campus,” said Carl Johnson, director of Student Programs and Greek Life. “The concrete sidewalks are public property and require a permit from the City of Denver not the University of Denver.”
That is why the people giving away Gideon Bibles on Asbury last Tuesday could not be moved away no matter how much DU students complained.
“It was annoying,” said Courtney Housam, a senior.
“I would say ‘no’ to one guy and then five feet later someone else would try to hand me a Bible.”
Although students may have been upset by these people’s actions, they were well within their rights.
“Anyone that is standing on the corner handing out materials is welcome to do so as long as they are on city property and not blocking entrances to buildings, blocking the sidewalk or forcing their materials on people,” said Tyrone A. Mills, associate director of Campus Safety. Still, there are ways that solicitors can lawfully spread their materials to students on campus.
“If they were on Driscoll Bridge, for instance, they would either have to buy a table or be sponsored by a DU affiliated group,” said Johnson.
“But when they are on those concrete sidewalks, it is the city’s jurisdiction.”
Not all visitors to campus meet such resistance, however. For example, Yakov Neyman’s hotdog stand has become a favorite lunch stop for DU students on the go.
“I finally got a break from class at 2 p.m. the other day, so I ran out to the hotdog stand,” said junior Tom Hertzberg. “It was a lifesaver.” Neyman has had no problems with Campus Safety.
“I do everything right,” Neyman said. “I have a government permit, so they give me no trouble.”
Although Sodexho, DU’s on-campus food provider, was not pleased with the added competition when Neyman first arrived last year, they now leave him alone and let him go about his business.
As for now, it appears that Miller, Neyman, the evangelists and others like them are here at DU to stay.
As long as they continue to follow the rules, they are within their rights to sell or solicit just off of university property.
