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Hunger on college campuses: it's a real thing
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Since I finished college (less than a decade), the tuition at my alma mater has gone up $10k. Since 2000, tuition has more than doubled. This is way faster than inflation. Many scholarships do not cover a meal plan.
Enough hating on millennials. Our world is different; job security lower, stagnant wages, and the cost of an education is a massive burden for many. Millennial poverty is also a huge issue with many causes; we have to address the causes but meanwhile yeah there are students who do skip meals and go hungry in order to make ends meet. I can't judge, my parents were able to pay for my education and cost of living. Good for me. That's not everyone's story.
Whatever you feel about youth culture and young people and us "entitled" millennials, we are getting squeezed more than previous generations. And anyone who suggests skipping out on college: you try and get a job without a bachelors. Degrees are markers of class as much as they are of skill, it buys access that pays off in the long run.
People kill themselves over student debt too. The student loan system is broken. And if you think you're guaranteed a job when you graduate but that rug is pulled out from under you, then it's your problem? We can't financially plan with so much uncertainty.
So yeah even though I was/am fine, have no loans, this isn't the story for many of my peers. Stop hating on poor people.
FYI you aren't getting squeezed any more than Generation X did...just differently
so tell me again how you are all getting squeezed harder?
Well said! Gen X faced all those same things...worst job market since WWII, stagnating wages which have decreased in real terms to below 1970 levels, high student loan interest rates (8.5%), High tuition, need for a degree for entry level jobs. Plus....just when we were finally able to get on the property market in early 2000s, it has to go and crash to one third its value....wiping out our equity, our 401(k) retirements and putting us all in even more debt. At least millenials came of age during a bull market where if they bought a cheap house after the crash, they've seen it triple in value unlike Gen X. But then Gen X is the forgotten, baby bust generation, there are very few of us.
Of COURSE previous generations struggled. And maybe we're not any worse off than other generations. But advice from previous generations on how to get ahead no longer always applies; again, our world is different. Gen X/boomers faced things like the Madoff scam and the housing crash, the tech bubble bursting. But now every article seems to be hating on what millennials are ruining. Bank accounts, diamonds, television, malls... We're the WORST! And yeah I know agism works in both directions (my mom was unemployed in tech at age 68 and job searching was super *kitten* for her)... our society gives us fewer opportunities than ever for people of all ages to interact. But I digress.
My point is people who don't think that college students (of any age) can be making a practical decision while also being in such abject poverty to get there that they do in fact experience food insecurity, are making blanket statements about others' experiences of which they know nothing about. I understand the objection to the weak example in the original article; it just makes no sense to extrapolate this to all college students. The original article also cites statistics on the disparity of the racial and socioeconomic makeup of students with food insecurity; saying that those students shouldn't go to college if they can't afford it ignores that it's a huge stepping stone to getting ahead. We can't know their challenges. And the students gaining the freshman 15 are NOT the same ones who are going hungry.
Completely agree with you. I went to college to get out of poverty.1 -
Since I finished college (less than a decade), the tuition at my alma mater has gone up $10k. Since 2000, tuition has more than doubled. This is way faster than inflation. Many scholarships do not cover a meal plan.
Enough hating on millennials. Our world is different; job security lower, stagnant wages, and the cost of an education is a massive burden for many. Millennial poverty is also a huge issue with many causes; we have to address the causes but meanwhile yeah there are students who do skip meals and go hungry in order to make ends meet. I can't judge, my parents were able to pay for my education and cost of living. Good for me. That's not everyone's story.
Whatever you feel about youth culture and young people and us "entitled" millennials, we are getting squeezed more than previous generations. And anyone who suggests skipping out on college: you try and get a job without a bachelors. Degrees are markers of class as much as they are of skill, it buys access that pays off in the long run.
People kill themselves over student debt too. The student loan system is broken. And if you think you're guaranteed a job when you graduate but that rug is pulled out from under you, then it's your problem? We can't financially plan with so much uncertainty.
So yeah even though I was/am fine, have no loans, this isn't the story for many of my peers. Stop hating on poor people.
FYI you aren't getting squeezed any more than Generation X did...just differently
so tell me again how you are all getting squeezed harder?
Well said! Gen X faced all those same things...worst job market since WWII, stagnating wages which have decreased in real terms to below 1970 levels, high student loan interest rates (8.5%), High tuition, need for a degree for entry level jobs. Plus....just when we were finally able to get on the property market in early 2000s, it has to go and crash to one third its value....wiping out our equity, our 401(k) retirements and putting us all in even more debt. At least millenials came of age during a bull market where if they bought a cheap house after the crash, they've seen it triple in value unlike Gen X. But then Gen X is the forgotten, baby bust generation, there are very few of us.
Of COURSE previous generations struggled. And maybe we're not any worse off than other generations. But advice from previous generations on how to get ahead no longer always applies; again, our world is different. Gen X/boomers faced things like the Madoff scam and the housing crash, the tech bubble bursting. But now every article seems to be hating on what millennials are ruining. Bank accounts, diamonds, television, malls... We're the WORST! And yeah I know agism works in both directions (my mom was unemployed in tech at age 68 and job searching was super *kitten* for her)... our society gives us fewer opportunities than ever for people of all ages to interact. But I digress.
My point is people who don't think that college students (of any age) can be making a practical decision while also being in such abject poverty to get there that they do in fact experience food insecurity, are making blanket statements about others' experiences of which they know nothing about. I understand the objection to the weak example in the original article; it just makes no sense to extrapolate this to all college students. The original article also cites statistics on the disparity of the racial and socioeconomic makeup of students with food insecurity; saying that those students shouldn't go to college if they can't afford it ignores that it's a huge stepping stone to getting ahead. We can't know their challenges. And the students gaining the freshman 15 are NOT the same ones who are going hungry.
YOu are correct and we face the same thing from previous generations.
However I say this again...if you are hungry in college you were hungry before college because those who are not hungry before college probably can go back to the parents/family and get help...
My thing is this...if you are not buying food to pay rent...go to a food bank or soup kitchen....don't be too prideful..
I agree with you as I grew up pretty hungry. Only thing I'd say is that during the times I was in poverty as a young independent teen not living at "home", I could not get to a food bank ( no money for transportation) and was turned away by a soup kitchen as I was not "officially" homeless. So just wanted to say it's not always possible to get food. If it were always possible then people wouldn't need to dumpster dive.
I definitely agree about it not always being "that simple". I grew up middle class and was truly poor for quite a few years in my early adult life during and right after college. I was too prideful to ask my parents for help and I full admit that.
But I did go to a few community resources and was immediately turned down for not being homeless and making over $400 a month (?). I was hoping they could give me a few pantry staples. I went to a free clinic right after college for a severe ear infection and was screamed at because I was neither elderly nor pregnant. Stuff like that sticks with a person.1 -
I think growing up is going through times of insecurity about food and housing, and other things. I bet kids who don't go to college are food insecure around that age too. We can help alleviate some of it -there a lot of events on campus which have food- however we are also trying to teach students responsibility, and sometimes that means going hungry because you spent too much elsewhere, or just because you really don't have the means. But the way I see it, we all have to learn how to budget and control our money at some point. Sometimes we have to sacrifice comfort for that education. College isn't just about what you learn in the classroom.
This, is the right answer.
Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times4 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »Since I finished college (less than a decade), the tuition at my alma mater has gone up $10k. Since 2000, tuition has more than doubled. This is way faster than inflation. Many scholarships do not cover a meal plan.
Enough hating on millennials. Our world is different; job security lower, stagnant wages, and the cost of an education is a massive burden for many. Millennial poverty is also a huge issue with many causes; we have to address the causes but meanwhile yeah there are students who do skip meals and go hungry in order to make ends meet. I can't judge, my parents were able to pay for my education and cost of living. Good for me. That's not everyone's story.
Whatever you feel about youth culture and young people and us "entitled" millennials, we are getting squeezed more than previous generations. And anyone who suggests skipping out on college: you try and get a job without a bachelors. Degrees are markers of class as much as they are of skill, it buys access that pays off in the long run.
People kill themselves over student debt too. The student loan system is broken. And if you think you're guaranteed a job when you graduate but that rug is pulled out from under you, then it's your problem? We can't financially plan with so much uncertainty.
So yeah even though I was/am fine, have no loans, this isn't the story for many of my peers. Stop hating on poor people.
FYI you aren't getting squeezed any more than Generation X did...just differently
so tell me again how you are all getting squeezed harder?
Well said! Gen X faced all those same things...worst job market since WWII, stagnating wages which have decreased in real terms to below 1970 levels, high student loan interest rates (8.5%), High tuition, need for a degree for entry level jobs. Plus....just when we were finally able to get on the property market in early 2000s, it has to go and crash to one third its value....wiping out our equity, our 401(k) retirements and putting us all in even more debt. At least millenials came of age during a bull market where if they bought a cheap house after the crash, they've seen it triple in value unlike Gen X. But then Gen X is the forgotten, baby bust generation, there are very few of us.
Of COURSE previous generations struggled. And maybe we're not any worse off than other generations. But advice from previous generations on how to get ahead no longer always applies; again, our world is different. Gen X/boomers faced things like the Madoff scam and the housing crash, the tech bubble bursting. But now every article seems to be hating on what millennials are ruining. Bank accounts, diamonds, television, malls... We're the WORST! And yeah I know agism works in both directions (my mom was unemployed in tech at age 68 and job searching was super *kitten* for her)... our society gives us fewer opportunities than ever for people of all ages to interact. But I digress.
My point is people who don't think that college students (of any age) can be making a practical decision while also being in such abject poverty to get there that they do in fact experience food insecurity, are making blanket statements about others' experiences of which they know nothing about. I understand the objection to the weak example in the original article; it just makes no sense to extrapolate this to all college students. The original article also cites statistics on the disparity of the racial and socioeconomic makeup of students with food insecurity; saying that those students shouldn't go to college if they can't afford it ignores that it's a huge stepping stone to getting ahead. We can't know their challenges. And the students gaining the freshman 15 are NOT the same ones who are going hungry.
YOu are correct and we face the same thing from previous generations.
However I say this again...if you are hungry in college you were hungry before college because those who are not hungry before college probably can go back to the parents/family and get help...
My thing is this...if you are not buying food to pay rent...go to a food bank or soup kitchen....don't be too prideful..
I agree with you as I grew up pretty hungry. Only thing I'd say is that during the times I was in poverty as a young independent teen not living at "home", I could not get to a food bank ( no money for transportation) and was turned away by a soup kitchen as I was not "officially" homeless. So just wanted to say it's not always possible to get food. If it were always possible then people wouldn't need to dumpster dive.
I definitely agree about it not always being "that simple". I grew up middle class and was truly poor for quite a few years in my early adult life during and right after college. I was too prideful to ask my parents for help and I full admit that.
But I did go to a few community resources and was immediately turned down for not being homeless and making over $400 a month (?). I was hoping they could give me a few pantry staples. I went to a free clinic right after college for a severe ear infection and was screamed at because I was neither elderly nor pregnant. Stuff like that sticks with a person.
your story isn't exactly the same tho...you could have had help from the parents...you just wouldn't ask for whatever reason...so in your case it is that simple...you didn't have to go hungry.
As for no money to get to a food bank...was it that far????
Soup kitchen turning people away? really? wow....
I live in a very small community of less than 10k...no public buses...we have a food bank and a shelter that serves hot meals to all comers...
not saying it doesn't happen but I do find it hard to understand a university town not having resources available somewhere near the school or within walking distance (our food bank is 3 miles from the college) ...1
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