COLUMN: Tuition increase at USC affects food insecurity


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Last week, the USC administration announced a 3.9 percent increase in university tuition for the 2017-2018 academic year. Come fall, the new cost of tuition will be $53,448 — $2,006 more than current tuition. Although the USC administration has expressed its commitment to maintaining one of the largest financial aid pools in the nation, questions remain as to how, if at all, this latest tuition increase will address the needs of hungry students.

As the cost of higher education increases, the number of students who are food-insecure rises concurrently. The National Student Campaign Against Hunger & Homelessness conducted a recent study with three campus-based organizations to understand the pervasiveness of food insecurity on college campuses. The study sample includes 3,765 students in 12 states, all from eight different  community colleges and 26 four-year colleges and universities. The study’s findings are both alarming and sobering. The findings show that 48 percent of respondents reported food insecurity in the previous 30 days. Moreover, students of color are disproportionately food insecure, according to the study. Fifty-seven percent of black students reported food insecurity, compared to 40 percent of their white, non-Hispanic peers.

The facts and figures point to one apparent reality: Colleges and universities must do more for food-insecure students. Food insecurity and a complete education cannot coincide. The hungry student working more than 20 hours a week, allocating most of their time to tracking down a free or affordable meal and pushing through a three-hour lecture with hunger pangs, is not receiving the same education as their food-secure classmate.

USC has taken steps to mitigate this unconscionable disparity. The Dornsife College Office of Diversity and Strategic Initiatives, in partnership with Campus Activities, has supported the Virtual Food Pantry, a project that provides Ralph’s gift cards to students, offers services that teach budgeting to students and connects them with financial aid representatives. This initiative started with a donation from Leo and Dorothy Braudy, who worked directly with Dornsife’s Center for Democracy and Diversity to confront underprivileged students’ most salient needs.  As the cost of living in Los Angeles has become prohibitively expensive for many students, resources such as the Virtual Food Pantry are vital.

However, institutions of higher learning, including USC, can and must do more. Specifically, the government and educational institutions will most effectively tackle the issue of food insecurity if they work together. For most students who grew up in poverty, the free breakfast and lunch programs, as well as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, that once kept them fed during the school day may suddenly disappear or become difficult to access upon entering college. Expanding SNAP eligibility requirements for college students, and allowing them to use these benefits to pay for college expenses, would be one concrete step toward effectively addressing food insecurity.

Ultimately, the most effective solutions will be the product of more research. Food insecurity on college and university campuses remains an often overlooked phenomenon. As one of the largest research universities in the world — thanks, in part, to rising tuition — USC has a responsibility to seek solutions and provide all of its students with an equal educational environment.

Bailee Ahern is a senior majoring in political science and international relations. Her column, “Vis-à-Vis,” runs every other Monday.