At the start of Winter Quarter 2021, we created the Tritons Care for Tritons: Chancellor’s Testing Challenge with the goal to keep our campus community safer and to support students during the pandemic. All undergraduate and graduate students were invited to take part in the testing challenge as a way to give back to their Triton community. For every student that completed 10 COVID-19 tests (once per week) during the quarter, Chancellor Khosla pledged to donate $50 to the Basic Needs Hub on campus.
Triton students delivered.
Because our students have kept our community safer by meeting weekly testing requirements, the offices of the Chancellor, the Executive Vice Chancellor, and the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs are pleased to announce that Chancellor Khosla is providing a one-time $400,000 donation to the UC San Diego Basic Needs Hub. The donation will be used to immediately support food security, housing resources, and financial wellness for all Tritons.
This one-time funding will allow our current scope of services to reach those with more specific needs, including funding for international students’ housing needs, supporting those with caregiving or childcare responsibilities, and our undocumented students.
UC San Diego is proud to help shape the University of California’s expanded definition of Basic Needs for our students. UC defines student basic needs as an ecosystem of financial stability; healthy and sufficient food; safe, secure and adequate housing (to sleep, study, cook, and shower); access to healthcare to promote mental and physical well-being; access to affordable transportation; and emergency needs for dependents of parenting students. This list of comprehensive needs represents the minimum necessary to support students in their holistic college experience at the University of California.
Thank You 400,000 Times
UC San Diego is a student-centered university, comprising faculty, staff, and community members who are dedicated to realizing this ideal. Thank you to our caring, compassionate students for demonstrating their willingness and commitment toward achieving this common public health goal. Because of your diligence and thoughtfulness, UC San Diego has not experienced an outbreak on campus, and there has been zero transmission of the virus in the classroom (indoor and outdoor) or in the research laboratory environment.
