Gallery

By: Andy

By: Tylor

Even when things are completely dark in your life, always look for the light. That light could be different for different people. For me, personally, whenever things got really bad, my faith always keep me going.

Alternative: It is easy for everything to pile up and pull you further and further into a dark space, especially if you’re not willing to look for something to bring you out. Even if you feel like you don’t deserve to be brought out of it or like no one will help you out of it. There is always a way out.

 Call to Action: Find ways to remove barriers for students seeking help. Sometimes students feel like they don’t deserve campus support or will not be helped when they seek it.

By: Kristian

Here I am turning strawberries into jam. This is not only an act to make food healthier but is also my boycott of society.

Alternative: Access to food on campus is not always equitable. If you're dining in, you're more likely to get more food than if you get a to-go box. But sometimes you just don't feel like sitting there. 

Call To Action: Provide training for food workers to provide the same food in to-go boxes. Some students use this food to survive. 

These are pine needles. I got them for free on the Nextdoor App. I had to take an uber to get them but it was worth it! You can make your own olive oil and can also use them for cleaning.

Alternative: Some students have to be creative in order to make ends meet, especially in the summer when the cafeteria is closed and access to kitchens are limited. 

Call To Action: Create a summer meal plan. Create a community food garden. 

By: Lowendy

During the summer and holiday breaks, there are less resources on campus. The resources aren’t there because a majority of students are going back home, and then you have people like myself who are still here, and we miss out. The cafeteria is completely closed; the gym cuts hours. Going to the gym is essential.

Alternative: Resources like the cafeteria are completely closed during the breaks; the gym has shortened hours. Students who use FAU for year-round housing rely on these services.

Call to Action: Provide access to resources during breaks. The services can be reduced, but do not discontinue them. We are already struggling to make ends meet. The lack of services during a time when we need them most feels like we’re being forgotten.

Doing laundry after work should be easier. A lot of times, you just gotta get lucky. Sometimes you’ll get a washer that’s open and then you turn around and all the dryers are taken up. Or you go to do laundry and two of them are out of order.  Each residence hall is different, but that happens pretty often at UVA.

Alternative: Doing laundry is more difficult for working students who don’t have the luxury to come back at a different time.

Call to Action: Add more washers and dryers to the dorms. Schedule regular maintenance.

We are like the fire. We can be hot, dangerous, vibrant, and burning but so easily put out. You have to sustain the fire to keep it burning. The destructiveness of the fire can last for a long time but can just as easily disappear in an instant. This fire is like our lives. Our problems seem like they’re always coming. Then, there are a few glimpses of happiness and joy sprinkled in. That is what I hold onto.

Alternative: While there are many resources at FAU, there are also a lot of barriers to accessing these resources. Remove the barriers preventing students from sustaining their fires. For example, some students use a friend or acquaintance’s address so that they don’t have to keep changing it as their situation changes. This may mean that access to other resources like food stamps may not be available because the people living at this address don’t need or qualify for assistance. Similarly, some students qualify for work-study but sometimes can’t access it due to the cumbersome process. So, they have to find job resources elsewhere.

Call to Action: Streamline the work-study job process. Provide a permanent P.O. box for students.

By: Lowendy

I love running. I used to run for Keiser. When I transferred to FAU, I wanted to join a running club, but there wasn’t one. If I even did a running club, it would be something special.