By The Associated Students Inc. Senate passed a resolution Wednesday that would support the incorporation of information about the Basic Needs Program into each Long Beach State course syllabus.
“I know that how the syllabus is constructed is up to the discretion of the faculty member,” Vice President Leen Almahdi said. “However, some other CSUs have actually started implementing this practice and its helped address the different issues that they have on their campuses.”
Almahdi said that Director of Basic Needs, Kenneth Kelly, suggested the proposal.
Sen. Jireh Deng authored the resolution.
“I think when looking at the research on basic needs a lot of students just haven’t heard about some resources, even though we try to put it out there as much as possible,” Deng said. “This is all part of the awareness and hopefully it helps more students.”
According to the resolution, the Basic Needs Program served 314 students in the 2018-19 academic year.
The resolution also references a study, commissioned by CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White, which found that as of 2018, 40% of students in the CSU system experience food insecurity.
“It’s really important for us to be proactive in our measures and not wait until a student is struggling, both financially and academically,” Almahdi said.
The Basic Needs Department provides services to students through the Student Emergency Intervention and Wellness and CalFresh outreach programs. Other programs, like the Beach Pantry, provide food, school supplies and toiletries to CSULB students in need.
Almahdi said that syllabi would be a great place to put the information because they’re mandatory to read for students’ courses.
“I really think it’s an amazing thing, so fantastic job, y’all,” Sen. Michael Lam said.
The next ASI will be held via Zoom conference on April 22.
