Bringing up the topic of money is enough to solicit groans and concerns from almost any college student. Even with the increased availability of college financial aid, many college students are struggling with how to pay for the cost of a college education and other necessities.
For a growing portion of college students, however, paying for college is just one of many financial concerns. While exact statistics are unavailable, colleges and universities throughout the United States are reporting an increased population of homeless and hungry college students.
The Rising Cost of a College Education
Any college student, regardless of his economic background, can tell you that the price of college is going up quickly.
According to Gordon H. Wadsworth at InflationData.com, the cost of college tuition has increased 466.8% since 1986. The rate of inflation for the same time period is 107.05%, making the increase in college tuition increasing the cost of consumer goods over four times as much as the increase in the price of a loaf of bread.
In an October 23, 2007, report in the New York Times, Project on Student Debt director Robert Shireman said, "College officials tell us not to worry because there’s plenty of financial aid. But that aid is clearly not going where it’s needed, because student debt is up by an even greater margin than tuition."
Homeless and Hungry College Students Struggle to Make Ends Meet
As a struggling economy continues to take its toll on families and individuals, more and more college students find themselves unable to pay for college, housing, food, or other necessities.
A July 27, 2010, article by National Public Radio (NPR) follows the efforts of students and administration at UCLA to address the issue of college students, homelessness, and hunger.
Homeless college students often will not discuss their situation with professors or staff members for a number of reasons. Some are single parents running from an abusive partner. Others are college students who came from middle class families, but are now struggling after their families lost jobs and homes. More are students who have changed schools or came from low income backgrounds and are determined to find their way out of poverty.
Diego Spulveda, a political science major at UCLA, was profiled as a part of NPR's report, described sleeping on friend's couches, showering in the Student Activities Center, and worrying about paying for the upcoming term after losing his job, let alone financing the remainder of his college education.
Many college students are taking out large private student loans in order to cover the remaining cost of attendance after financial aid in addition to covering living expenses for that academic year. This poses problems, too, because college students will graduate with massive student loan debt. These students will see higher monthly payments towards their loans, with many private loans being repaid for a twenty year period, not including times of forebearance or attending graduate school.
The problem of homeless college students has been reported on college and university campuses of all shapes and sizes, from community colleges to nationally-recognized universities such as UCLA. Unfortunately, statistics on just how many college students lack housing stability and food are unavailable. For students who are living in homeless or temporary shelters, cars, or are sleeping on the couches of friends, "homelessness" is a word that they are not likely to use to describe their situation.
Helping Homeless and Hungry College Students
As the struggling economy and the rising cost of a college education continue to break the bank, colleges, universities, and independent organizations are attempting to reach out to provide students with resources so that they can continue and complete their college education.
At UCLA, an unmarked closet has been converted into a food pantry with canned goods, basic box mixes, and other necessities such as soap and shampoo. The idea for the pantry was developed by UCLA engineering student Abdallah Jadallah, who had noticed some of his classmates going hungry. All of the food in the pantry is donated, and students can leave comments in a notebook that has been left there.
Another report in The Progressive tells of BR, a professor at an undisclosed college who has been letting homeless students sleep in her office for over ten years. Some students only stayed for a little while, while one stayed for an entire semester. BR said that the administration never knew about his or her helping these homeless college students, but said that the students who had spent time sleeping in her office have gone on to become social workers.
A Portland State University student, Josh Hyrkas, who had been homeless himself has also created a project to try to document the number of homeless college students on campus and what they do to survive. The project started Hyrkas took a statistics class and noticed that the statistical data on homeless college students simply wasn't available. Hyrkas is working with a fellow Portland State student, National Association for Education of Homeless Children and Youth policy director Barbara Duffield, and others to create a documentary about homeless college students, says PSU's newspaper Vanguard.
While college students struggle with everything from final exams to depression, more and more college students are facing homelessness and hunger for a number of reasons. With the collaborative efforts of individuals and college and university administration, students may be able to find resources to help with finding food and housing while still completing their college education.
Ashley Anderson - Ashley is an Ohio-based writer and editor with specializations in higher education, writing, and social activism.
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