Research Projects

Student Housing and Dining Services (SHDS) is a core part of the student experience at UC Davis, shaping daily life through campus housing, dining programs, and community initiatives. In addition to providing meals and residential spaces, SHDS leads efforts focused on sustainability, cultural programming, and student engagement. With many ongoing initiatives, it is important to understand how aware students are of these programs and how they perceive them.

Basic needs analysis is a core component of university research and planning, with educational institutions regularly supporting resources and services that help students navigate college life. Institutions like UC Davis offer a wide variety of resources to its student body, with the goal of providing support and assistance to ensure a successful personal and academic experience. Basic needs vary widely, and are constantly being reconsidered and redefined. Several paradigms exist to define human basic needs.

The primary objective of this project is to examine how the general undergraduate UC Davis student body is aware of and utilizes campus mental health resources. Additionally, this project examines the relationship between insurance experiences and UC SHIP, as well as insurance issues in relation to mental health awareness and treatment experiences. Furthermore, this analysis focuses on understanding which services are most recognized and utilized by students, and how they learn about said resources.

The Associated Students of the University of California, Davis (ASUCD) is the largest employer of UC Davis students on campus, providing employment opportunities across numerous units, including the coffee house, bookstores, buses, and administrative offices. As a major campus employer, ASUCD plays a crucial role in shaping the student experience at UC Davis — not only for its employees, but for the broader campus community who interact with ASUCD services daily. 

The ASUCD Gender and Sexuality Committee (GASC) seeks to understand the lived experiences, resource needs, and climate perceptions of students across the spectrum of gender and sexual identities at UC Davis. This initiative aims to guide GASC’s advocacy, programming, and policy recommendations to foster a more inclusive, equitable, and affirming campus environment.  

The objectives of the Mobile Pantry project are as follows:

The ASUCD Pantry is a vital resource that works to address food insecurity in the UC Davis community by providing essential resources such as prepared food and fresh produce. Established in 2010 and officially launched in 2011, The Pantry has become a system for students for over a decade. Each academic year, more than 100 volunteers contribute their time to provide approximately 1,200 students with food and other essential items each week (ASUCD Pantry).

In recent California political discourse, housing and perceived housing issues have taken center stage. California has the highest median rent (Time Magazine) and the highest unhoused population (Cal Matters) in the United States. As such, Governor Gavin Newsome has set a lofty statewide production goal of building 2.5 million new units by the end of the decade (Cal Matters). These issues affect the state’s population as a whole, and disproportionately affect areas with compounding social disadvantage.

Primary Contributors: Jeremy Elvander, Associate Director; Isabella Gonzales, Researcher; Meenakshi Iyer, Researcher; Brady Horton, Researcher

External Contributors: DOTS — Ramon Zavala, Transportation Demand Manager, Equitable Parking Initiative — Siddharth Jasthi, Chairperson; Alex Jackson, Executive Chief of Staff

Primary Contributors: Jeremy Elvander, Associate Director; Isabella Gonzales, Researcher; Meenakshi Iyer, Researcher; Brady Horton, Researcher

External Contributors: ASUCD Unitrans — Jeffery Flynn, General Manager

Introduction & Objectives

Primary Contributors: Dyson Smith, Researcher; Pearl Vishen, Researcher

Additional Contributors: Jeremy Elvander, Associate Director

External Contributors: ASUCD Sexual Assault Awareness and Advocacy Committee — Vrinda Vutukury, Committee Chair