Students around the world and at Furman University need to start prioritizing their eating habits and stop skipping meals. According to Intelligent.com, this social issue is so important because one in three college students skip a meal every day. Eating three meals a day is crucial for college students and their mental health. Some of the main reasons that college students skip meals are because they are exhausted with classes, stressed with responsibilities, overwhelmed with schoolwork, do not have the time to eat, and are overcommitted which leaves students little time to prioritize eating three meals a day.
Figure 1: Students are slammed with constant schoolwork.
Figure 2: More meals are being taken to-go in college.
This issue can be solved by colleges providing easier access for students to eat three meals a day. Colleges across the nation and Furman University should be required to offer at least one 24-hour food source, dining area, restaurant, or cafe on-campus. According to CDC Healthy Schools, food is so crucial for college students because it increases energy levels, promotes a functioning immune system, leads to higher academic or athletic performance, and enhances students’ psychosocial well-being. Therefore, Furman University needs to change its dining experiences so students will be able to improve their mental health, stop skipping meals and be able to properly use their meal plans to their advantage.
Furman University should provide their students with better dining hall hours because it will help students prioritize eating in conjunction with their busy schedules. Furman student Joci Wirth states, “students at Furman are required to pay thousands of dollars annually for their rigorous education, yet the school does not provide us with any late-night restaurants or dining options that are open past 9pm.” For reference, the average cost of a student’s tuition at Furman University in 2022 was $73,920 according to Furman University's website. College students at Furman University are also required to live on campus all four years and the majority of its students have meal plans that are required for freshmen. In addition, most freshmen and sophomore students reside on-campus at Furman University and do not have access to kitchens in their dorm rooms which prevents them from being able to cook their own food. Although, there is one community kitchen in each of the freshman buildings for all the residents to share. Therefore, if freshmen and sophomores do not eat before 9pm, then they will have missed their opportunity to eat their paid-for campus meal and will not have any access to campus food until morning.
Furman University should also require a 24-hour food source because food is such a basic necessity for college students and colleges should be able to adapt to the needs of their students. Many students have different studying schedules, class schedules, athletic schedules, and even work schedules that interfere with Furman’s early dining hall hours. An example is Furman Senior, Joci Wirth, who is forced to skip meals some days due to her heavy work and school schedule. Joci told us, “I pay a lot of money for my university meal plan and most nights when I come home from the lab the dining hall is closed, and even if I do make it before the early closing time a majority of the food is already gone.”
Figure 3: Club Athlete Joci Wirth is too busy studying to eat dinner.
Joci is also an athlete on the club soccer team who sometimes practices late at night and travels for away games. As a result, due to Joci’s extracurricular activities, it would cause her to rarely make it in time for Furman’s dining hall hours and would have to skip meals. Research has shown that college students are able to learn better when they are well nourished. Eating healthy has also been linked to higher grades, better memory, and faster information processing according to CDC Healthy Schools. As a result, Furman University should take these facts into consideration and start caring more about the physical health of their students by creating easier access to food. If colleges adjusted to this change, a positive correlation should arise between increasing food access and creating smarter, more energized Furman students. In conclusion, Furman University and Colleges everywhere should be required to have a 24-hour food source so colleges can start seeing positive changes in students' eating and living habits.
Works Cited
“Eating Healthier at School.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Sept. 2022, https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/features/eating_healthier.htm.
Furman University, 12 Sept. 2022, https://www.furman.edu/.
“Nearly 1 in 3 College Students Say They Have to Skip Meals Every Day Due to Cost.” Intelligent, 5 May 2022, https://www.intelligent.com/nearly-1-in-3-college-students-say-they-have-to-skip-meals-every-day-due-to-cost/.
“Tuition and Fees.” Admissions & Aid, 1 Sept. 2022, https://www.furman.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-fees/.
University, Furman. “Furman University: Café Bon Appétit.” Furman University Caf Comments, https://furman.cafebonappetit.com/.
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