Basic Needs Insecurity in U.S. Colleges: Human Rights Unfulfilled (2024)
There have now been fifteen years of research on the basic needs of college students in the U.S.
The studies have primarily focused on assessing the prevalence of food and housing insecurity.
Determining who is responsible and finding solutions have been less emphasized. The scholarship has also not framed the problems of students’ basic needs insecurity (BNI) as human
rights violations. This article argues that applying a human rights lens to the issue reveals that
the rights to education, food, and shelter are not being realized, but further, higher education
institutions bear considerable responsibility for addressing BNI. Human rights education will
also be shown to have a role in empowering students themselves to right these wrongs.