The University of Washington campus might soon be home for some of Seattle’s homeless.

Last night, students from Community Development for Health, a two-quarter UW public health class, held a meeting in Kane Hall to promote hosting one of Seattle’s tent cities for the homeless, Tent City III. Students are hoping to set up a campus location by the end of the school year.

There are two tent cities operating in King County, Tent City III and Tent City IV. They are not related to Nickelsville, which was housed in the U-District earlier this year.

Tent City III has had 35 hosts since it was established in 2000 and can house up to 100 residents. Such encampments in Seattle are normally located in church parking lots or lawns and can operate legally in a single place for about three months with the city’s permission. Seattle University hosted the city in 2005, but the tents are currently situated at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill.

According to the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle, on an average night, more than 7,900 people in King County are homeless. Due to the recent economic downfall and lack of affordable housing and entry-level jobs, the health class students believe it’s the UW’s responsibility as an academic institution to help with the problem.

“In the face of this mounting crisis, guardians of the public well-being should step to the forefront through education, engagement, collaboration and action,” said Noah Barclay-Derman, a student in the global health department. “Tent City III residents need a location and recognize the resources and support UW could provide, as well as the opportunities for students to engage pressing social issues at multiple levels.”

No campus site has been specified for the camp’s possible location, but a class committee is considering places like the Sylvan Theater, near the Burke Museum or parking lots like W-2 or W-14.

Sahar Banijamali, a graduate student working to get her master’s degree in public health, said the students are looking for an area with low traffic that will not be an inconvenience to UW students.

Banijamali said that depending on where tent city is located, parking may become a problem or campus lawns may be damaged, but she thinks the benefits of housing a tent city overcome the negative effects.

“The tent city residents are pretty self-organized, and they have a lot of rules,” she said. “One of their big projects is trying to give back to the community. They have a litter pick-up program for the area around them, and in areas where a tent city is located, crime actually tends to decrease.”

An elected council of tent-city residents governs the city and enforces a strict code of conduct, banning drugs, alcohol, weapons, and physical and verbal abuse. Tent-city residents would not have access to campus buildings unless specifically invited to events, but the university would have to cover the cost of residents’ electricity and water use.

“At a tent city, you can establish a routine, and you can begin to get back a little bit of what you’ve lost,” said Anne Rider, Tent City III executive committee member and resident. “I have been very grateful for its presence in my life.”

Out of 667 UW students and faculty members surveyed for an ongoing online questionnaire created by the class, 55 percent support an on-campus tent city location.

No formal request to host Tent City III has been sent to the UW administration thus far, but a similar proposal was rejected in 2005. The class is gathering more information from the campus community before making a proposal to UW President Mark Emmert, who was not in attendance last night.

Reach reporter Katie McVicker at news@dailyuw.com.