One day after class, a couple of my friends came to me with an ethical debate. They were made aware of some people in their friend group staying in high-rises on West Campus, whose parents cover their expenses for cars, housing, food and tuition. They would go to UT Outpost and take as much food as they could carry. My friends disagreed about whether it was wrong to use it without need because there’s no rule explicitly stating that.
Ethics and morality don’t come from written rules; they stem from our conscience. However, when there are no rules to guide us, anything can be fair game. A need-based system is necessary to determine what and how much students can take from UT Outpost.
While Outpost allows any student to take up to 20 pounds of food per month, the problem arises when those who are fully financially supported exploit a resource designed for insecurity alleviation. Each pound taken by someone who doesn’t need it is a pound unavailable to someone who might have to skip meals that week without the Outpost’s resources. Nicole Smith, associate professor of philosophy, said student abuse of the organization’s services limits its charitable impact.
“It’s so important to the underlying purpose of (UT Outpost) that people operate with (the) intentions (of only taking) what they need when they need it,” Smith said.
UT Outpost is more than just a free snack box. Smith explained it’s a form of mutual aid, as opposed to charity. It relies on trust and community care to help those in need, rather than gatekeeping for those who deserve help.
“We have to consider what is currently driving students who don’t necessarily need these things to get them, and I think the biggest thing is the convenience of it,” business and Plan II sophomore Anushree De said. “Getting free food or a business casual outfit is a lot easier to do because it’s on campus and is free, compared to buying lunch or going to the grocery shop.”
While it’s understandable that students are tempted to take what’s free, convenience doesn’t erase consequences. Much like my friend who argued on behalf of the financially supported students taking food, college culture tends to normalize free stuff as fair game. However, UT Outpost raised 42 tons, or 84,000 pounds of food, over the course of the entire 2024-2025 academic year, which is insufficient if 55,000 people are each taking 20 pounds per month. While not every single student is going each month, the program depends on community values, and taking from it without need disregards that completely.
Because UT Outpost is a university-sponsored program operated through The Office of the Dean of Students, there is an ethical responsibility that lies in the university to foster an environment in which the program is most beneficial. By not addressing how to prevent misuse, UT risks allowing a system founded on the premise of community care to be exploited.
It’s a lot to expect most college students to think beyond themselves, so the university must make up for that. A program designed to combat resource insecurity being exploited for indulgence isn’t just a loss of 20 pounds of food, it’s also a loss of the integrity of community care.
Cintron is a journalism sophomore from Houston, Texas.
