A photovoice presentation by Olivia Andringa, Sam Larsen and Becca Smith. Uploaded here to host on https://blogs.uw.edu/rmhersh for educational purposes.

1. STUDENT FINANCES
IN TACOMA
PRESENTATION BY: OLIVIA ANDRINGA, SAM LARSEN, BECCA SMITH

2. OUTLINE
• Introduction to our Photo Voice
• History
• Methods
• Photos
• Findings
• Conclusion
• Call to Action

3. INTRODUCTION
For this Photo Voice project we researched the socioeconomic influences that the UWT
campus creates in the downtown Tacoma area and its relation to the financial well-
being of the students attending UWT.

4. HISTORY
• 25 Year Anniversary (1990)
• Fragment of History
• WCG, Ghost walls, etc.
• UW Transformed Tacoma
• Created a safe place, community partnerships, and economic revival
• UW was developed with the intentions to be a campus accessible to commuting
students and as a means of urban renewal for the city
• Was built “with the potential to develop a historic campus” (Maynard, 1990)
• Rehab and Renovation of buildings in the area stimulates the economy- Started with 12
main buildings, but UWT continues to purchase and develop other spaces
• The University is working in a role of preserving and promoting dynamic changes in the
greater downtown area

5. Impact on Tacoma
• UWT has helped the economy in downtown Tacoma immensely
• Has the economic growth downtown transferred to the economic well-being of
students at UWT?

6. METHODS
Participants: Olivia, Becca, and Sam. We utilized photographs of situations on campus
or in our lives as students, that affect our personal financial outcomes.
Topic Selection: We originally looked at broad topics within the UWT community, and
gradually decided upon finances and how UWT has stimulated the economy in
downtown Tacoma. However this economic growth has not transferred to economic
well-being for students at UWT.
Analysis: We met together as a group and analyzed our photos with the SHOWeD
Method.

7. METHODS CONT.
Findings:
1. UWT has promoted economic development and environmental changes in the
downtown Tacoma area.
2. This development does not necessarily result in greater economic well-being for
students at UWT
• Examples: textbook prices, food prices, mandatory service fees, lack of discounts at
businesses, etc.

8. PHOTOS
Psychology Textbooks
These are textbooks that have been purchased
for between 100-200 dollars each, and the UWT
bookstore is not able to purchase them back and or only
offers a fraction of the money paid for the original copy.
They also do not offer discounts on books for students
which can lead to spending copious amounts of money on
the textbooks. Unless you want to buy them online!
Fresh Fruits and Veggies
I feel lucky to have a job that allows me to be able to
purchase basic nutritious food that I can bring to campus..
However, I know this is not the case for many students while
we are here. The stores on campus make it extremely
difficult to buy organic fresh fruit, or packaged items at a
decent price. Most items range from $3-10 for a granola bar
or sandwich and the fruit is quite over-priced. This makes it
difficult to eat healthily.

9. PHOTOS
This picture shows the price of beef
jerky from Walmart being $3.98.
Although this is fairly expensive for
a snack, it is reasonable and
somewhat affordable.
Pictured here is the same beef jerky at
West Coast Grocery here on campus.The
difference in price shows the expensive
prices of food available at our campus.
Rather than have UWT look out for their
student’s economic well-being by offering
reasonably priced foods, the school
inflates their prices to gain a profit.
Many college students are unable to
afford to eat healthy foods so they are
forced to eat unhealthy foods like Top
Ramen because it only costs 24 cents
for a meal.
Store Pricing Inflated Prices at School Unhealthy Food Options

10. Forced YMCA membership
PHOTOS
Menu Prices
Pictured is the campus YMCA. As part of paying for this
facility through our tuition, all students receive
free membership, regardless of whether or not they actually
use the facility. The cost is $180.00 a quarter, and paid
through our student tuition as a non-optional cost.
Pictured here is a menu from one of the restaurant
closest to the UWT campus. Many of these places
even share the same building as many UWT classrooms.
But ironically, these places are oftentimes out of reach for
student’s budget for food, and thus do not frequently get
student patronage.

11. CONCLUSION
How did our personalities influence the data we collected?
• We all appreciate the way in which UWT has stimulated the greater Tacoma area.
• We all are financially struggling college students. Though we have different
backgrounds, we are experiencing some of the same issues as UWT students.

12. CALL TO ACTION
• Student Discounts
• Cafeteria
• Cheaper food on campus
• Better buyback program for books
• Offer healthier food options at an affordable price
• Option to opt out paying for YMCA

13. FIN!
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?