We are Swipes For A Cause, an organization that allows Vanderbilt students to donate their unused meal plan “swipes” to people in need. We use leftover swipes to order shelf-stable foods from campus food marts to distribute to local food banks. We have over 500 students signed up to donate with us — almost ten percent of Vanderbilt’s entire student body. In under three weeks, we were able to reach 300 donated meals per day, with the potential of expanding to over 800.

As unemployment and hunger skyrocket in Tennessee due to COVID-19, this program is needed now more than ever -- and if we had run for an entire semester, we could have provided 70,000 meals to Nashville’s food-insecure population. 

And then Vanderbilt ordered us to shut down our program, based solely on the false claim that we stored student passwords. At first, we thought it was all just a simple misunderstanding, so we willingly sent them documents explaining how our program actually worked. We were eager to collaborate with Vanderbilt to come to a solution together. 

Over the last few months, however, administrators have willfully and maliciously ignored our pleas for a simple discussion, instead choosing to relentlessly attack us. They sent a defamatory email to our users, stating that we did not properly protect student data. They threatened us with disciplinary action should we continue the program, asserting that we introduced risk to student cybersecurity. They questioned our community partners over the phone, pushing them to stop working with us. They ignored our emails and phone calls, only responding when they needed something from us or when they were trying to implicate us in policy violations.

Sign on and demand with us: Vanderbilt, it’s time to listen to your students. You can’t just ignore a charity organization that 10% of undergraduates want to donate with. We want to fulfill the mission of this university to serve the greater good and people struggling in the Nashville community. Meanwhile, your inaction has left tens of thousands of people in Nashville without meals. Will you work with us, or continue to stand in our way?

Please sign to show your support for our organization and hold Vanderbilt accountable! This is a community petition, so feel free to share it with friends and family.