The best way to get insights on the student experience is to ask the students themselves. Through the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board (CSAB), selected student leaders engage with Chancellor Ramchand and campus staff about topics affecting our Jaguars today.
As representatives of the student body, the board chose to focus on nutrition education and campus safety for their yearlong research projects. The groups presented their findings and recommendations for improvement during their final presentations on Friday, April 19.
Nutrition education
Group members: Stephanie Santamaria Vilchis, Kayla Lemmon, Ashley Remy, Gia Liwanag and Clara Pineda
When the group was determining their topic, they asked themselves, “What’s something I wish I would’ve known my first year?” Nutrition became a popular theme. For the first time, students are now in control of when and how to eat, and this can be an overwhelming adjustment for many.
Based on survey results, first-year students found it hard to find vegetables on campus, skipped meals due to time management and were not aware of the nutrition-based programs and services IU Indianapolis currently offers.
To raise awareness about proper nutrition, address potential food insecurity and prevent student burn-out, CSAB students recommend:
- Amplifying current initiatives like the Jags EatWELL Challenge, Paws’ Pantry and Peer Health Educators.
- Providing tips and resources on nutrition at the start of a student’s college career. This could include contact points at Bridge Week and WOW or in FYS classrooms.
- Incorporating nutrition information into class syllabi, but making it more relatable to students. For example, making broccoli part of your meal will give you more energy to study.
Campus safety
Group members: Natalie Holmes, Vibha Kamath, Jalen Pullings, Jaideep Kakar and Addison Misch
IU Indianapolis’s urban campus comes with many advantages like networking and internship opportunities, along with a vibrant community just minutes away. With that comes an increased focus on campus safety due to the nature of being part of a large city. Through the group’s research and surveys, they found that students are most worried about theft and being followed, are not aware of current campus safety apps and resources and have not interacted with IUPD before.
To provide students with a positive and safe experience on campus, CSAB suggests:
- Improving the relationships and perceptions between the student body and IUPUD by having officers run safety presentations and mingling events so students can get to know IUPUD in a comfortable setting.
- Posting safety tutorials on social media so students know how to download apps and alerts like IU-Notify and the Rave Guardian app.
- Connecting with our international student population so they feel confident about safety rules and policies in the United States that may differ from other countries.
Throughout the engaging conversations between Chancellor Ramchand and the students, a common theme stuck out in both presentations: the power of student-to-student messaging. If students like our CSAB members empower others to take control of their diets and be more aware of campus safety resources, we can create a greater impact on our campus community.
