WHEN SOMEONE says they're hungry, you don't blink. When the statement is placed into the context of the 16 percent of Charlottesville residents living below the poverty line in 2002, one may reconsider what hunger really is. At this past Tuesday's UVA Hunger Banquet, unequal distribution of food was one of the ways organizers sought to drive home the idea of hunger. Unfortunately, to most students, hunger remains an abstract concept, even though student voice is the key to creating real change here in Charlottesville.
The 16 percent of Charlottesville residents living in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Board Report for 2002, contrasts sharply with Virginia's poverty rate of just 9.6 percent. There are many origins to the widespread problem of hunger and poverty in Charlottesville. However, these do not include inadequate supply of food or laziness. Instead, as Anthropology Prof. Ira Bashkow put it at the banquet, hunger is a result of politics. Politics have left University employees powerless to change substandard wages, ignorance and inflated housing prices, all of which contribute to poverty.
The substandard wages that many Charlottesville employees face is an issue quickly gaining notoriety. Just two weeks ago was Living Wage Week, when many events focused on the need for a living wage for University employees. In a Cavalier Daily Focus story on Nov. 2, City Councilwoman Kendra Hamilton said, "The University of Virginia, as the largest employer [in the area], sets the prevailing standard and determines the condition that a lot of people live in." The University has a responsibility to ensure these conditions include salaries above the living wage.
Joe Szakos, executive director of the Virginia Organizing Project, said at the banquet that he believes the low wages the University gives is the largest reason for poverty and hunger in the community. Unfortunately, he says, little is done. Part of the problem is that the University community remains unaware of the issue. University officials do not have the motivation to initiate change when protest is invisible. The situation is analogous to a legislature made up of only the wealthiest five percent of a nation -- these individuals will be ignorant, even unconcerned, about the needs and opinions of the majority of the nation. Likewise, wealthy University officials are out of touch with employees who struggle to place food on the dinner table.
The University's position on the issue is twofold. First, many of the employees are contracted and, thus, the University does not determine their wage and cannot legally require contractors to offer a living wage. Secondly, the University uses the market to determine wage rates and increasing wages could be costly. The amount of strain it could place on the University does not justify paying below the living wage, especially in light of the University's many financial expenditures.
University students' housing demands also cause poverty and hunger to arise. Since not enough housing is available on Grounds to all students, some students must live off Grounds. Consequently, demand increases for housing in the area. The demand trickles down throughout Charlottesville, allowing landlords to increases rent. Two simple solutions exist: to create more affordable city housing for lower-income residents and to create more on-Grounds housing. While these may not be the quickest or cheapest of potential solutions to poverty in our area, they are avenues to be explored.
Students can make a difference to help end the problem of hunger and poverty. Experts from a Washington Post column dated April 8, 2005, explain why: Universities are susceptible to moral arguments in ways businesses are not, and students cannot be fired. Thus, students hold the unique power to place pressure on University officials to make changes without worrying about repercussions. By gathering together and letting our concerns be known, the University will be unable to simply brush the issue aside.
Student campaigns have worked at other universities. Earlier this year at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, five students created a human chain inside the office of an administrator. By noon of that day, the administrator had agreed to one of their demands, the creation of a committee to study wage levels and to seek potential solutions. University students are no less compassionate or persistent than their counterparts at other universities and hold the same power to initiate improvement.
While it is easy to be overwhelmed by the global consequences of hunger and poverty, we needn't look so far. Right here at the University, poverty significantly impacts employees we interact with everyday. While there may be many logistical issues in finding practical solutions, these should not be excuses or reasons for us to ignore the issue. There is no better time to display the strength of the student voice by helping to lead the University to the right course of action.
Rajesh Jain's column appears Thursdays in the Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at rjain@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | 4 days agoThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 5 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | January 9, 2025Every student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
