Anissa Mckay

Anissa Mckay & Jayla

&
Ramirez-Gonzalez
Jayla Ramirez-
Gonzalez

The Impact of
The College
Lifestyle
wicked 7
problem- There are many factors that play into college
students mental health. They often face intense
Health and academic pressure, leading to mental health issues
like anxiety and depression. These can affect their
Livelihood overall health and ability to perform well
academically, impacting their future livelihood.
Housing Problems
1 2 3
There isn’t enough housing Of nearly 5,000 surveyed Howard University students
available to students at HBCUs in 2020, complained about rodents,
accommodate rising 55% said they struggled to flooding and other
HBCU enrollment, students maintain safe, affordable haphazard conditions, and
endure poor living and consistent housing — a university official said
conditions on some and 20% said they mold was identified in at
campuses, and off-campus experienced homelessness least 38 dorm rooms.
housing is largely in the prior year
inaccessible
Solut i on t o Ho u si n g
-Establish or expand support services
that help students find suitable housing
options, navigate housing applications,
and address concerns. This can include
housing counselors or advisors

-Creating a range of housing options with

varying price points can help accommodate
students with different financial
backgrounds. This may include low-cost or
shared housing options

-Student organizations, alumni, and

advocacy groups can play a crucial role in
bringing housing issues to light and
advocating for improvements. They can also
engage in fundraising efforts to support
housing initiatives
Fewer Resources, More
Debt:
Loan Debt Burdens Students at
Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Underfunding of Key Findings

Hbcus HBCU students borrow more HBCUs

(median cumulative
$26,266
80% 55%
federal loan debt) NON- HBCUs $14,881

25 Percentage of graduates
HBCUs NON- HBCUs who borrowed $40,000 or
85%

%
more 59%
HBCU students borrow HBCUs
at a greater rate HBCUs NON- HBCUs
NON- HBCUs
Seven-year
repayment rates

Contextualizing the Findings

Over time, the maximum
72 Pell Grant has paid a
71% 39%
smaller percentage
college costs
of $9,855
$7,810
% HBCUs NON- HBCUs
HBCUs NON- HBCUs
30%
HBCUs enroll a
35 13% HBCU students have
greater share of 1976-77 2015-16
higher levels of unmet
low-income students financial need
Four-year Public College Four-year Private, Non-Profit College

Call to Action
What can policymakers do to reduce the
heavy burden faced by HBCU students? Policymakers should:
Improve the federal student
Reduce the Increase grant aid loan servicing system
complexity of
the federal
student aid
and work-study
opportunities $ and the student loan
repayment process

eligibility

$
Reduce the cost of federal
process
loans for students and
their families
Like any other student, I love my HBCU. The traditions, the
scencery, the culture, and the history all make my home by the
sea. Though all colleges are different, HBCUs, particularly
smaller institutions, have limited on-campus dining options.
This can result in a lack of variety, nutritional choices, and

College cultural diversity in the available meals. Most of the on

food acce ss campus dining options close at 9pm. As a member of a campus

organization, whenever practice ended between 9:30-10:30pm
most of the food locations were closed.

HBCUs campuses often have diverse student populations with

unique cultural and dietary preferences. Ensuring that dining
services are culturally sensitive and provide options that cater
to various tastes and dietary restrictions can be a challenge.
Promoting healthy eating habits and providing nutritional
education might be lacking. This is essential for the overall
well-being of students, and addressing this issue requires
collaboration between dining services and academic programs.
Though Implementing sustainable practices in food sourcing,
preparation, and disposal can be challenging but is increasingly
important.
How can we change this?
First, universities should offer cooking classes or workshops to students,

promoting self-sufficiency and healthy eating habits. In these workshops,

01 students should discuss raising awareness about the importance of diverse

and healthy food choices through educational campaigns. The program can

promote the connection between nutrition, mental health, and academic

performance. Possibly even exploring partnerships with culinary schools or

local chefs to enhance food preparation skills on campus. Only certain

dorms on campus have kitchens in the main entrance for student use but

not all. I believe promoting fairness is giving all student body the same

02 access as well.

Campus should start hosting cultural events or theme nights that

celebrate the diverse backgrounds of the student body through food.
Events that’ll start around 8pm and carry on until 10, which gives students
with night courses or extracurricular activities a opportunity to
participate. Instead of during the day, invite the food trucks to set up at
HOW CAN A HEAVY WORK LOAD
IMPACT THE MENTAL HEALTH OF
A COLLEGE STUDENT?

1 2 3
Balancing a heavy Attending a high From this, students
workload with other profile HBCU, can develop
responsibilities, such as students may perfectionistic
part-time jobs, tendencies in
experience
extracurriculars or response to academic
difficulties in
family obligations, can pressures, setting
maintaining High extremely high
create time
academic demands, standards for
management
challenges. This can coupled with themselves. This can
result in feelings of expectations to lead to chronic stress
being overwhelmed and succeed and negatively impact
stressed. mental well-being.
01 From experience, I want to first start off
with the idea of evaluating the curriculum to
ensure that course requirements are essential

How Can we and directly contribute to the learning

objectives.

ReSolve this? 02 Promote the importance of self-care and well-

being. Provide resources and information about
time management, stress reduction, and
seeking support when needed . Also giving out
the same energy you want to recieve, having a
positive attitude.

03 Consider offering flexibility in assignment due

dates, allowing students to better manage
their time and prioritize tasks based on their
individual schedules and commitments.
Works Cited

https://uncf.org/pages/infographic-fewer-resources-more-debt-loan-debt-burdens-
students-at-hbcus
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/hbcus-are-getting-creative-meet-growing-student-
housing-demand-rcna61022

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hbcu-mental-health-black-students-
college_n_63850e5ce4b006c42d415798