campus

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION, Journalism

Expanding SNAP Benefits On Campus Will Help Stave Off Hunger For 1 In 3 College Students

It’s harder to learn when you are suffering from hunger or searching for your next meal. But while around 30 million K-12 students in public schools are eligible for free or reduced lunch, it is a different matter when they leave. Many of those who graduate from high school and enroll in higher education institutions find they no longer have access to federal food programs. The nation’s leading anti-hunger program for adults, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides food assistance to almost 44 million Americans. Only an estimated 18% of college students have been eligible for the program in recent years, with a low 3% actually receiving food assistance. This may be changing. Congress recently passed legislation that included relief for the estimated one in three...

Ethnic diversity on campus helps break down stereotypes

When students attend ethnically diverse colleges, their enriched experience transforms how they view different ethnic groups and better prepares them for life and work in 21st century America. This finding is based on the responses of nearly 4,000 students from 28 U.S. colleges who completed annual surveys between 1999 and 2004 about their views of overall ethnic diversity at their schools, specific ethnic groups and their own well-being. More diversity makes students see ethnic groups as being basically the same when it comes to warmth and competence – two major dimensions of group stereotypes. That is, the more diverse a campus is, the more likely students perceive Asians, Latinos, Blacks and whites as similarly trustworthy and similarly intelligent, rather than as stereotypically diff...

The mental health crisis on campus and how colleges can fix it

When college students seek help for a mental health issue on campus – something they are doing more often – the place they usually go is the college counseling center. But while the stigma of seeking mental health support has gone down, it has created a new problem: College counseling centers are now struggling to meet the increased demand. As a researcher who examines problems faced by college students in distress, I see a way to better support students’ mental health. In addition to offering individual counseling, colleges should also focus on what we in the mental health field refer to as population health and prevention. These efforts can range from creating more shared spaces to increase social connections to stave off feelings of isolation, to reducing things on campus that threat...