![Adding a tray of canned corn to the pile, junior Michael Collop assists in transporting donations for the Holiday Food Drive. The event, hosted schoolwide from Dec. 10-17, raised over 5,000 food items to deliver to the Parkway Food Pantry, helping several families in need. [The drive] is a great thing for us to do because you're giving to those who are less fortunate, and it helps provide for people who can't provide for themselves. [The] competition is always fun, too. It was fun to be in [social studies teacher Jess] Chazen’s class, because he always gets worked up over [the competition]. He made it exciting, and was always convincing us to turn in cans for the drive,” Collop said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/feature-photo-unsung-2.png)
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
Esteban Carrasco is constantly running.
From his University Park South dorm, he runs to classes, different on-campus meetings and then back home to check up on his son. During a short break in his busy schedule, he recalled three students saying: “You’re the guy that’s running all the time. Take it easy.”
On top of his full-time class schedule, Carrasco also dedicates some of his time as the treasurer of the Student Parent Union at San Francisco State University. The club was founded by the organization’s president, Katarina Argandar back in 2023 to create more visibility and resources, as well as mobilize the community for a student-parent space on campus.
Both of them are single parents. Carrasco has a 13-year-old son and Argandar has a 3-year-old daughter. Based on their experiences on campus, the club organizers have been adamant about the necessity for a dedicated facility that caters to the needs of student parents.
This facility would include a space for student parents to study with their children as well as a centralized hub for resources including a lactation room, breast pumps and children’s books. While some of these resources can be found in the Health Promotion & Wellness department, the lack of centralization can make it difficult for students to access them.
“They’re very hard to navigate,” Argandar said. “Sometimes it can be a little difficult as a student parent because we have so much on our plate. We don’t always have the time to do the extensive research to try to find everything online.”
Carrasco’s motivation for a dedicated facility comes from his struggles to find accommodations for his son. His son has a rare genetic disorder, adrenoleukodystrophy, which makes him high risk for cardiac failure and necessitates remote schooling. Therefore, Carrasco must spend most hours of the day with his son, leading to difficulties in finding places that can accommodate his son.
“I went to the library with my son. We got shushed and I thought, ‘Okay, I’m supposed to be with my son, right?’ But there’s no place currently accommodating us,” Carrasco said.
Currently, the Early Childcare Education Center is one offered on campus to student parents. The facility provides childcare and preschool services for children from infants to 5 years old and can serve up to 100 families. Argandar sends her daughter to ECEC, however Carrasco’s son exceeds their age limit.
“Our priorities are student parents, the parent that is in need of childcare,” said Alejandro Rios, the executive director for AS.
According to Rios, because the ECEC’s tuition is set on a sliding scale based on a student’s income, the facility counters childcare costs by receiving grants from both the city and federal governments. He says while 75% of the facility’s capacity is reserved for students, the ECEC also sets aside 25% of its facility for children of SFSU faculty and community members.
One of the most utilized resources by the student parents in the SPU has been Food+Shelter+Success, SFSU’s Basic Needs initiative within the Health Promotion & Wellness department.
FSS provides assistance such as emergency meal cards, emergency rent assistance grants, and hygiene/child care. HPW also provides parents with free nursing equipment, diapers and snacks.
In Fall 2023, it was mandated that CSUs offer priority registration for parents. This required student parents to self-report their status as parents, which helped the university get more comprehensive data from parents on campus. Using this information, HPM reached out to parents and found out what assistance they need on campus. According to Karen Boyce, director of HPW, 716 students self-reported as parents in Spring 2024.
The SPU found some success in its journey to establish a resource center for parents on campus. Talks with the J. Paul Leonard Library have led to a child-friendly area in the library’s study commons. SPU hopes to have space for a more dedicated center sometime in the future.
“There is hope and a plan for the future of having a designated space in the library just for parenting students. That has been postponed because of various construction projects that are going on around campus [and] have made the space in the library that we were hoping to use temporarily unavailable,” Boyce said.
While that space is in talks, the library is planning to launch a program in which students can rent out toys and other items. This new program has yet to set a launch date.
“They’re called kid kits, and it’s part of a program that the library is doing called The Library of Things — so that you can go to the library and not just check out books or get help with your research — but you could check out puzzles, or you could check out a study kit or sensory kit or games or kid kits,” Boyce said.
The SPU meets every Monday at noon in the library. The group is still awaiting any confirmation of plans for a dedicated facility for student parents.
“We understand other parents with their children. We have that common bond,” Carrasco said. “We’re all really just trying to be with our kids, to find a place where we can finally build that community without struggling with where we fit in. Where do we fit in?”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated for accuracy.
This story was originally published on GoldenGateXpress on September 30, 2024.
