Steve Fallon: It is my good fortune to teach extremely bright and hardworking students at Notre Dame. The longer that I taught classic texts of literature and philosophy in that setting, the more convinced I became that the books were too valuable -- too beautiful, too challenging, too illuminating -- to be shared only with those with the resources to attend a college like Notre Dame. At the same time, I realized that classics have survived because they are enthralling. They were (and new classics still are) read long before finding places on college reading lists. We anticipated, and we've found, that homeless people respond to these works as avidly as, or even more avidly than, our traditional students.

AWEARNESS: Even with the current housing crisis, many people would probably be surprised to learn that a large homeless population exists in a college town like South Bend, so close to the Notre Dame campus. Why do you think so many people are unaware of the extent of the homelessness problem in America?

Steve Fallon: Unless you know someone homeless personally, homelessness is only an abstraction or, worse, a nuisance on city streets. It's more convenient to overlook and to forget, and we like convenience. It's our loss, though. Some of the students I've taught at the Center for the Homeless are extraordinarily talented. Many have fallen off the grid because of chemical dependency or other serious life complication. If they can get past those hurdles, they have a tremendous amount of talent and energy to contribute.

AWEARNESS: It must be very inspiring to see homeless people trying to turn their lives around. Why do you think the classics are so effective in bringing out the true potential of others?

Steve Fallon: Two reasons. First, many classic texts grapple with fundamental questions, the kind of questions that life as always presented and will always present. How should we weigh obligations to the family against obligations to the state? How should we respond to unjust laws? Are our choices and actions free or determined? What makes us happy? Many of our texts address suffering, wandering, and spiritual homelessness (think of the Odyssey, the Aeneid, Augustine's Confessions, Paradise Lost, Frederick Douglass' Autobiography), and our homeless students have found themselves in such texts more readily than our traditional students. It's exciting for us because they bring to many texts perspectives different from those of our undergraduates. Second, they've heard of these authors and most never thought they would or could read them; when they find out that they can, it is a tremendous confidence booster. For many of our homeless students, the seminars dispel the illusion that they cannot do what college students, and particularly Notre Dame students, can do.

AWEARNESS: Any advice for others trying to establish a similar type of program? What type of feedback have you received from other organizations trying to help the homeless in South Bend?

Steve Fallon: Don't underestimate the potential of the homeless and dispossessed. If you offer intellectual substance, you'll be repaid by the eagerness and insight of the students. Don't be discouraged by those who say that the students won't understand difficult texts, and don't be deterred by those who argue that the homeless need vocational training instead of Plato and Milton. Both arguments are condescending. If Shakespeare is really as good as we think he is, why should he be reserved for the privileged? When you make your sales pitch to potential students, offer a sample of what you will be doing. By way of a brief and well-chosen passage, narrative summary, or video clip, introduce a provocative question (how would you handle the choice of Achilles, between a long life in obscurity or a brief and glorious life? if you were Antigone, would you choose allegiance to the state by obeying Creon or allegiance to the family by burying your brother?). And then open up for discussion. If all goes well, the potential students will want to be involved in discussions like this every week.

AWEARNESS: In the past, you've mentioned your interest in establishing a sort of endowment for the program to pay for books, transportation and tickets to cultural events. What's the best way for people to contribute to or get involved with your program?

Steve Fallon: We have a small fund that supports the Program, and we're hoping to grow it so that we can convert it into a modest endowment. Contributions earmarked for the Homeless program and made out to U of Notre Dame can be mailed to the Program of Liberal Studies, 215 O'Shaughnessy, U of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. If you want to learn more about the program, write to me at the same address or at sfallon@nd.edu.