Meramec’s Student Advocacy and Resource Center Continues Helping Students.
BY: MAX WILSON
News Editor
St. Louis Community College students have access to a variety of support services, all at no cost to them. If a student needs help applying for state benefits, crisis management or even clothes, the Student Advocacy and Resource Center is available.
However, knowing that services exist and how to access them can be challenging, according to Shannon Nicholson, Coordinator of the Student Advocacy and Resource Center.
The Student Advocacy and Resource Center (SARC) was previously known as the Student Assistance Program. Nicholson said that the services of SAP have not disappeared, but instead they have expanded into the SARC.
There are “a variety of services centered around supporting students’ academic and personal success,” Nicholson said. Among them, Campus and Community Referrals, Missouri Benefit Application Assistance, Crisis Response, and Archers’ Markets.
SARC does not require students to submit documentation for most of their services. When first accessing services, a student will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire, Nicholson said.
The purpose of this questionnaire is to “identify any additional resources that might be available to support a student,” Nicholson said. She went on to say that the SARC’s goal is to support students both on and off campus.
If a student wants assistance with completing Emergency Fund Applications or Missouri Benefit Applications, Nicholson said that further documentation might be needed. However, “these are all things that are discussed with students [..] and aren’t required at their first meetings with us,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson said that SARC may “coordinate support resources with our partners in Access [the disability services office], Counseling, Financial Aid, Advising, [and] TRIO” on behalf of a student. Nicholson clarified that specific details are never disclosed. “We may ask if our campus partners are aware of the student or able to assist,” she said.
SARC complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as FERPA. “This means that we do not disclose any student information to individuals outside the institution without explicit written consent from our students,” Nicholson said.
In addition, SARC coordinators are confidential resources for Title IX concerns. “This means that if a student wants to discuss instances of discrimination, harrassment, sexual harrassment, or sexual violence, they can do so with those staff–without a mandated report being made to the college Title IX Coordinator,” Nicholson said.
While the pandemic may have changed the way SARC provides student support, Nicholson emphasized that services have not stopped.
“One of the major challenges was connecting with students in a safe, socially distanced way,” Nicholson said. SARC overcame this hurdle by holding appointments over the phone or on Microsoft Teams. (Nicholson said that SARC “intends on keeping those options available moving forward.”)
While Nicholson said that it was difficult “not to see folks that we’d normally see coming into the Market for a snack or meal,” SARC employees “did a lot of texting, email outreach and phone calls to demonstrate that we are still here to serve students.” However, Nicholson recognizes that “Zoom fatigue” is very real and is excited to see more people for face to face services and events.
Individuals that want to help support SARC have multiple ways to help. Nicholson said that donations of non-perishable food items can be dropped off during normal business hours.
“Most commonly our needs are for grab and go meals like Hormel lunches, Ramen, [and] Mac & Cheese cups,” Nicholson said.
She added that SARC also has an Amazon Wishlist, where items will be directly shipped to SARC offices. To get the link for the Amazon wishlist, email Shannon Nicholson at SNicholson29@stlcc.edu.
In addition, Nicholson said that donations of personal care items, like shampoo, body wash and period products, are always accepted.
Financial donations are also accepted. “Donations can be made by visiting http://commerce.cashnet.com/fnd and selecting the “Annual Appeal Fund” option at the top of the screen. In the comment section of the donation page, type “Meramec SARC Emergency Fund.”
Nicholson said that Emergency Fund donations “help us provide emergency financial support to students that have experienced an unplanned crisis that threatens their enrollment in school.”
One of the easiest ways to help is simply by connecting students in need with the SARC programs. “We know that folks have had a very challenging two years and we are excited to help,” Nicholson said. “The more we know about the needs of our students, the more we can do to support [them].”
For further information, Nicholson encourages students and faculty to access www.stlcc.edu/SARC.
