INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM

TO:	DR. VINCENT BOUDREAU, PRESIDENT
FROM:	JENNIFER SAETEROS
SUBJECT:	UNAFFORABLE FOOD BECOMES A BARRIER FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS
DATE:	FEBURARY 18, 2020

Purpose:

The purpose of this memo is to address how students who attend City College of New York have to face food insecurity because food prices on campus cause complications with their economic status.

Summary: 

Food insecurity has been a growing problem among college students. In the year 2019, studies showed that forty percent of CUNY students have encountered unreliable access to nutritious food also known as food insecurity. The issue of food insecurity on the campus of The City College Of New York can lead to lower academic performances and health problems among students.  

Discussion:

Overall, the majority of the students who attend City College of New York come from low-income backgrounds. In the year 2017, 37.1 percent of senior CUNY college students lived in a household that had an annual income of less than 20,000 a year. Therefore, the rising cost of tuition, the cost of textbooks, transportation, school supplies, and housing has caused students to choose these necessities over food. To continue, the food that is available on campus are usually overpriced and unaffordable to students. When comparing the prices of food on campus and outside the campus, the food on campus is more expensive. Food prices on campus and the economic status of students don’t correspond with each other. The unaffordable food on campus is a contribution to food insecurity among the students.  

Furthermore, limited access to food can contribute to health problems that include stress, mood changes, poor nourishment, and difficulty concentrating. Limited access to affordable food has not only affected the health of students’ but it also has become a barrier for academic success. There have been studies that have shown how food insecurity has interfered with the academic work of students. Students are being limited from reaching their full academic potential because of malnourishment.   

As a result, the unaffordable food on-site has caused many students to face food insecurity on our campus. Providing an aid or a discount for quailfying low income students can aliviate food insecurity. Also, creating outreach programs can help provide students with information with nearby food pantries and places to receive affordable food.  

Recommendation:

I would like to discuss this issue when with you when you are available. Please free to contact me at [email protected].  

Memo Reflection 

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In this assignment, we composed a memo that addresses a problem on the campus of City College of New York. The purpose of my memo is to discuss how students that attend City College of New York have to face food insecurity because the food prices on campus don’t satisfy with their economic status. The genre of this assignment is a memorandum because of the characteristic features that the memo contains. The set up of a memorandum is a format or sections that includes a heading(date, to, from, and subject), purpose, context, discussion, and action. A memo begins with the purpose, where the writer clearly states that they are writing the memo. Then the memo is followed by a context that gives the reader some background information about the topic. The discussion section follows by providing a more detailed argument that supports the writer’s stance. Lastly, the memorandum ends with an action of call, and the writer states the next step they would like to resolve a problem. The exigence of the memo was to solve a problem occurring on the campus of City College of New York. The motivation of this memo was to create a strong argument that will cause this problem on campus to be fixed or dealt with. In my memo, the exigence was to lower the number of students that suffer from food insecurity on campus. Therefore, the purpose of this memo was to bring awareness to food insecurity and provide a proposal to this issue. The potential audience of this memo was Dr. Vincent Boudreau, the president of City College of New York. The stance of this memo is that low-income students should be provided with aid because many have encountered food insecurity. As the writer of the memo, I am trying to connect with the audience and bring their attention to this issue. I am providing a concise and convincing argument through electronic media to communicate with my targeted audience. The media of the memo provides a more convenient, quick, and formal way of communicating.

Furthermore, this assignment has helped me achieve the Course Learning outcomes. By writing this memo, I was able to explore the genre of a memo. The genre of a memo provided a more modern way to communicate in a professional matter. I was able to further examine the rhetorical situation by making sure that a stance, purpose, and targeting a specific audience was incorporated into my writing. Through this assignment, I was also “developed strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing.” In the writing processes of the memo, I began by writing a draft. My draft of the memo was then revised by my classmates during class. With the collaboration of revising with my peers, I further developed my skills for revising. I was able to give feedback to my peers and I was able to recognize aspects that I was missing in writing. For instance, some feedback I received was to add headings, readjust sentences that have fragments, and grammatical errors. The editing process of writing was more smoothly with the feedback given to me and by making sure I included all aspects that were needed. Another learning outcome that I have achieved was to understand the use of digital technologies to addresses a range of audiences. In this case, the memo is an electronic way of communicating to a group of audience. Through this assignment, I was able to explore and understand the visual set up of a memo. This assignment gave me an insight into how writing a memo would look and how it would be formatted. To continue, I was also able to “recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in a writing situation.” Some key rhetorical terms that I practiced in this assignment was purpose and audience. At the beginning of the memo, I had to state the purpose of my writing this memo. By using this rhetorical term, I provided the audience with the objective of my writing. Also, by giving the reader the purpose of my reading, I was able to keep in mind my position or stance when discussing food insecurity. Lastly, by acknowledging that my targeted audience was Dr. Vincent Boudreau, I was reminded to hold a formal, friendly, and respectful tone.