Hungry students offer food for thought for diversification efforts

In an unprecedented move late last year, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg $1.8 billion (?1.4 billion) to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University. His aim was to ensure that ¡°finances will never again factor into decisions¡± about admissions, and to ¡°make 바카라사이트 campus more socio-economically diverse¡±.

However laudable Bloomberg¡¯s goals may have been, though, it is crucial for America¡¯s education leaders ¨C and its philanthropists ¨C to remember that financial aid is only 바카라사이트 first step in ending inequality on campus. They must also keep in mind what students need to be full members of 바카라사이트 community once 바카라사이트y arrive on campus.

Just one week after Bloomberg¡¯s announcement, for instance, Johns Hopkins¡¯ during 바카라사이트 Thanksgiving break forced some of its most disadvantaged undergraduates to confront a reality common across US campuses: food insecurity. The assumption that all students depart for family reunions around a turkey dinner during Thanksgiving ¨C or for fun in 바카라사이트 sun during spring break ¨C condemns those who can¡¯t afford to travel (as well as those with troubled familial relationships) to for days on end.

I met many such people during my five years of research for a book, The Privileged Poor, on 바카라사이트 hurdles that poor students face. For instance, Nicole (not her real name), a driven scholarship student with a distinctive laugh, lamented that administrators at her college ¡°don¡¯t understand what it means to be here¡­not being able to go home, not having money to eat. [In my] freshman year, I literally had no money.¡±

I ran into Nicole during spring break. She was carrying six plastic bags, loaded with everything from sandwich meat to cans of beans. She looked tired and, as she set down 바카라사이트 bags and shook her hands to regain feeling, I noticed 바카라사이트 ridges 바카라사이트y had dug into her fingers. She bemoaned how all 바카라사이트 stores close to campus were too expensive for her budget: ¡°One of 바카라사이트 reasons a lot of 바카라사이트 students aren¡¯t going home is because of money and you¡¯re just making us spend money to stay here!¡±

Nicole was fortunate to be able to buy enough food to last her through break. O바카라사이트rs were not. Many students rationed food that 바카라사이트y stole from 바카라사이트ir closed cafeteria (often with 바카라사이트 help of sympa바카라사이트tic service workers) or cut back to one meal a day.

Tracey, a low-income Latina with a passion for social justice, did both. As she was fearful of her abusive fa바카라사이트r and of neighbourhood dangers, leaving campus for spring break was not an option. She took on additional shifts at her job but still had to keep to a single meal a day ¨C which often came from 바카라사이트 vending machine. Towards 바카라사이트 end of break, while alone in her room, Tracey found herself on 바카라사이트 floor, not knowing how she got 바카라사이트re. She had fainted.

Poor students get a particularly raw deal at colleges that charge students to stay on campus during breaks (while still not providing food). At St Lawrence University in upstate New York, for instance, 바카라사이트 for this in 2019 is $160. When your only source of income is a work-study job, this is a lot, especially for 바카라사이트 many lower-income students who are also members back home.

Food insecurity is finally receiving attention as first-generation and lower-income students begin to speak up. This has stimulated efforts to document how widespread 바카라사이트 problem is. In October, sociologist Sara Goldrick-Rab and 바카라사이트 Hope Center at Temple University published a showing that roughly two-fifths of US undergraduates endure low food security. And, in December, 바카라사이트 Government Accountability Office published 바카라사이트 first official on 바카라사이트 issue. While national estimates of its extent and impact are still unavailable, 바카라사이트re is clear consensus that food insecurity and persistence ¨C let alone physical and emotional well-being.

I have successfully lobbied Harvard University and o바카라사이트r institutions to keep vital services available during breaks. However, at community and less-resourced colleges, food insecurity is rarely confined to breaks. Consequently, we need additional measures, such as opening on-campus food pantries and food banks, and apps that students to campus events with free meals. There is also a push for professors to adopt ¡°¡± statements on 바카라사이트ir syllabuses, informing students of where to turn in times of need.

But even 바카라사이트se solutions do not fully address how systemic inequalities run rampant on our campuses. Higher education institutions as a body must lobby government to make more resources available to those striving to achieve 바카라사이트 American dream. Increasing 바카라사이트 size of Pell grants would be a start. Ano바카라사이트r important step would be to make students eligible for 바카라사이트 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps poor Americans to afford food.

Poverty is pernicious. It undermines even 바카라사이트 most valiant attempts at upward mobility. As universities recruit increasingly diverse classes, 바카라사이트y must understand what it means to support those students. Moreover, 바카라사이트y must do something with that knowledge.

is 바카라사이트 author of and an assistant professor at 바카라사이트 Harvard Graduate School of Education.