UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Student Advisory Board on Student Poverty (SABOSP), which was created during the fall 2021 semester, has finalized its recommendations for combating student poverty at Penn State and submitted them to Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims. With 46 pages of recommendations, the SABSOP hopes to tackle student poverty with insight from the student perspective.
“We thank the students for their committed efforts to help find solutions to the ongoing problem of student poverty,” said Sims. “Student advocacy on this front has been clear and persistent, and the student advisory board’s findings will help us to further develop our focused, institutional response to the food and housing problems too many of our students face. We intend to pilot a new initiative targeted specifically at the concerns the advisory board has identified, and with the support and collaboration of these and other students, we are determined to provide the help required where it is needed most.”
Central to the advisory board’s recommendations is the creation of a new office to aid students who are struggling to access basic resources. Currently, Sims is closely reviewing the recommendations and working with colleagues and student leaders to establish a new function in Student Affairs that will provide focused administrative oversight to the many initiatives underway to minimize the impact of food and housing insecurity on Penn State’s students.
“It has been nothing short of inspiring to witness the work of the SABOSP members. Student perspectives on institutional priorities should be integral to University decision-making,” said University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) President Erin Boas. “We are so grateful for the partnership with Student Affairs, and I am eager to see the transformational progress that can result from the group’s recommendations.”
The advisory board was created by the University Park Undergraduate Association in collaboration with Student Affairs to cultivate solutions to student poverty at Penn State, while in turn positively impacting students struggling to access food, housing and other basic necessities.
The advisory board's work began with discussions with various stakeholders, including University Health Services (UHS), Housing and Food Services, the Lion’s Pantry, and Sims. The board also gathered testimonials from students through a focus group to help inform its recommendations. The board’s work continued with weekly meetings to discuss its list of recommendations.
Boas, UPUA Vice President Najee Rodriguez, and Lion’s Pantry President Emily Griffin served as the co-coordinators for the SABOSP, which includes 15 other student members. Boas pointed out that every day there are Penn State students who can’t afford to purchase meals, access basic hygiene resources, or must work multiple jobs to make tuition payments, among other examples. These challenges, Boas said, lead to larger systemic inequities that, unless they are addressed and discussed at an institutional level, will continue to compound.
According to Rodriguez, thousands of students are impacted by some facets of poverty every day. Paired with the rising cost of education, Rodriguez said the most vulnerable students suffer.
“Nationwide, student poverty has been an issue that hasn’t always received the attention that it deserves, and it feels validating to see an intersectional collaboration between the University and students, focused on helping fellow Penn Staters who face these challenges. We are part of a voluntary and mutually respectful relationship with the University, in which students are being listened to, and heard,” Rodriguez said. “The students who are part of the SABOSP come from a variety of different backgrounds, all of whom are deeply passionate about addressing student poverty and bettering student life for those around them.”
As a first-generation college student who has experienced poverty himself, Rodriguez said it is uplifting to see the University commit to working with students to address this issue.
“For students who cannot afford to eat, do not have a place to sleep, cannot afford medical services, or just cannot afford basic life necessities — this commitment from the institution to examine these issues in concert with students, and to find solutions to a national issue, changes everything,” Rodriguez said. “Things will get better, and they can get better.”
The advisory board’s recommendations are the latest in a series of actions Penn state has taken to identify and address issues with food and housing insecurity among the University’s student population. In February 2020, Penn State President Eric Barron convened a Food and Housing Security Task Force to examine and find solutions to this important issue for Penn State students across the commonwealth. The task force shared its recommendations last March, and the University is currently advancing a number of new initiatives as a result, including housing scholarships and improvements to the student-run Lion’s Pantry. In addition, Barron and his wife, Molly, personally committed $525,000 to establish the Eric and Molly Barron Student Food Security Endowment, which will provide University meal plans for undergraduate students who encounter food insecurity.
Penn State offers various resources for students struggling to access food, housing and other necessities. Students may contact one of the various Student Affairs offices that offer support and resources, including Student Care and Advocacy. Additionally, the Lion’s Pantry is stocked with food, household and toiletry items at no cost to students. The University also houses Project Cahir, an organization that is committed to fighting poverty within the campus community.