First of all, Amanda totally misled me from the beginning. At the time of the interview I was very engaged in the treesit and the park and was under the impression she would be using the interview to give voice to a unique perspective of these issues. I won’t go into everything here, at this time, suffice it to say that after our ninety minute interview she only used a couple of sound bites and those which served the purposes of her story and from her own perspective. After reading the interview I was ashamed and heartbroken, because I had the sense Amanda was someone I could trust, which was why I was so open with her, publicly, about my past. In retrospect, I’m glad this is now all part of the public record, but i’d like to set that record straight.

At present: I’m enrolled full time at the University of California at Berkeley and am on track to graduate on December 15th; probably with a 4.0 from this semester (knock, knock, knock). I’ve been sober for the past year or so, minus one relapse about halfway through. I’m running my own business repairing and selling bicycles. I’m vegetarian and do yoga a few times a week. I’m involved in the UC protest/strike/free education – group/movement (we don’t have a set name just yet). i’m in touch with my family and actually writing from my mom’s where we all just had a beautiful thanksgiving. so, life is good. i have much to be grateful for. that is not to say, however, that i regret or discredit my past experience. that was all a necessary learning experience and taught me more about knowledge and life than i ever learned in the textbooks. the way i see it, it was my “year abroad” — or my para-bachelor’s degree. about four years of time i spent learning about the theories and concepts that the academic environment had introduced me to — directly. participant observation, so to speak. i was interested in education, so i taught in inner-city schools for four years. social welfare- group home counselor for 16 mos. peace and conflict studies – lived in israel/palestine, jerusalem, ramallah, bethlehem, nazareth, etc. sociology – went to jail seven or eight times (n/i mexico and NY), lived outside 14 mos, developed a drug addiction (and beat it). so, now i believe i have credibility to talk about these social issues and ways to combat them effectively.

anyway, i asked amanda several times for the transcript of the interview we conducted prior to this article. she tells me she’s lost it. that’s a damn shame (even more so because i believe her). I am currently working on my thesis which is titled, Living Outdoors: A Radical Re-framing of the HMS Debate in Berkeley, California. This will present the argument, in an academic format, that I originally intended to get across in the interview with Amanda. I felt she had an opportunity then to write something different. Something groundbreaking and powerful, rather than typical, ‘here’s some kid who had everything and fucked it off.’

amanda. there’s so much i want to say to you. i have so much anger and resentment for what you’ve done here. i know you feel guilty too, because you know how dishonest you were from the beginning. i’m going to resist the urge to criticize you though and tell you instead that it’s nothing. forget it. but remember this, you had an opportunity to write something great. you still might.

love,

z.solo

p.s. for more info you can find me on facebook by searching zak solomon

And, sure, it’s easy enough to dismiss most (if not all) of “the homeless” by pointing to those that are alcoholics, drug addicts and/or mentally ill… but not all persons that have lost their homes are these. Why don’t these stories ever cover those that don’t so neatly fit into the dismissable pigeonholes?