DE&I Initiatives
ReimagineTU plans to advocate for an increase in multicultural service providers to provide the much-needed inclusive empathy to a campus full of people from various backgrounds and ethnicities. Also, with the removal of Diamond Dollars this upcoming year, this leaves several students in a stressful state because of food insecurity. For example, with this removal of currency, most basic meals at places such as Chick-fil-A and Wingstop could cost up to two meals due to a couple of cents going over the one-meal limit, eventually leading to compounding problems for students with a finite number of meal swipes. To potentially eliminate this problem, ReimagineTU proposes working towards a partnership with “Swipe Out Hunger” --a national nonprofit organization committed to ending college student hunger—as well as creating an environment where meal swipes an be donated, shared, or “rolled over” throughout the semester. A student’s priority should not be where their next meal will come from. Moreover, presently, our campus struggles with unequal and unkempt restroom facilities, thus impacting inclusivity and hygiene. To address these issues, ReimagineTU’s Bathroom Equality initiative aims to install free menstrual product dispensers in all bathrooms, increase the number of trash cans for better hygiene, prioritize restroom maintenance, and potentially add more gender-neutral bathrooms to create inclusive spaces for all students. Finally, students at Temple University currently have to pay exceedingly high prices for new or used course textbooks. We aim to work with Temple to ensure that there is a guaranteed reserve of money for students who need assistance paying for textbooks.
Meal Swipe Sharing & Rollover​
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Temple University prides itself on being a diverse campus, and giving people from colorful backgrounds access to various opportunities. Unfortunately, this is not reflected among staff who work for Tuttleman Counseling Services. ReimagineTU believes that every student should feel represented and safe when choosing a mental health provider.
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Breaking it down...
(Written by Kiyah Hamilton, VP Candidate, & Chelsea Lubbe, Policy Writer, Ambassador for Swipe Out Hunger)
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Food insecurity affects a plethora of college students, and with the removal of diamond dollars, most basic meals at places such as Chick-fil-A and Wingstop can cost up to two meals due to a couple of cents going over the one-meal limit. This creates an issue for those who have a finite number of meal swipes (such as 5, 10, and 12) which could run out by the end of the week. ReimagineTU proposes working towards a partnership with “Swipe Out hunger” a national nonprofit committed to ending college student hunger. as well as creating a space where meal swipes can be donated, shared or rolled over throughout the semester. A student's priority should not be where their next meal will come from, and student’s should be allowed to swipe every meal they paid for the way they see fit.
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Working with the Swipe Out Hunger chapter at Temple, there is commitment by the organization’s E-board that can ensure that the 40% of students here at temple who are food insecure will have resources such as access to SNAP and Temple University’s FoodShare slack. Swipe Out Hunger's goal is to conduct weekly or monthly swipe drives on a regular basis for students. Right now Temple University’s partnership with Aramark is a work in progress. We currently have the social media intern for the national chapter of Swipe Out Hunger, Maddie Mosley put the Temple University SOH chapter in touch with the executive director, director of programs, and director of advocacy at Swipe Out Hunger National working with Annnette Ditolvo, Temple University’s Cherry Pantry coordinator, who are all working to communicate with Aramark company. Temple’s chapter of SOH is working with other student leaders of SOH across the country to figure out the best ways to move forward and cement the Swipe Out Hunger swipe drive here at Temple University.