Fat on Campus

“Fat on Campus: The Voices and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia is an indispensable addition to the Fat Studies canon. This team of fat scholars has crafted a must-read for students, faculty, and allies - whether you’re ready to bring fat liberation to academia or just want to better understand the experiences of fat students.”

Aubrey Gordon, Author of Your Fat Friend

“Fat on Campus: The Voices and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia, is an incredible resource for all Student Affairs practitioners to better understand fatphobia on their campuses. This book uses stories shared by its contributors and a comprehensive overview of fatphobia as a field which is deeply intersectional and nuanced in its understanding of fatphobia. The variety of research methods used, as well as the utilization of personal narrative provides diverse and impactful perspectives for readers. Fat on Campus challenges all of us to shift our assumptions around who is in our spaces and how we are contributing to their further marginalization, provides clear calls to action for multiple functional areas, and is a
must-read for all.”

S. Gibson, Janae Due, and Mia Wilson on behalf of ACPA’s Coalition for Fat Identities (CFI)

“In my forty years as a college professor, I have been delighted to see the creation of organizations for diverse groups of students. But even though fatphobia is rampant among that age group, fat students are still unrecognized and made to feel invisible. Fat on Campus: The Voice and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia helps to transform these biases into action and visibility. The book contains narratives by fat college students and highlights the #FatOnCampus Project, a call to action to center the daily experiences of fat college students. The book includes discussion of fat in the classroom, dormitory life, student organizations, social spaces on campus, admission to fraternities and sororities, food services, athletic and fitness facilities, and campus health and mental health counseling centers. Fat on Campus: The Voice and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia is an excellent resource to increase inclusion of fat students, decrease isolation, alter physical barriers on campus, and highlight a spirit of belonging. I congratulate the authors and all the student participants for this outstanding book!”

Esther Rothblum, Ph.D. Professor Emerita, San Diego State University

“I have loved, admired, and followed the #FatonCampus project since the very beginning! Fat on Campus: The Voices and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia is exquisitely written and represents a deeply meaningful and collaborative project focused on the lives of fat college students. The photographs and narratives herein demand our attention, emotionality, and action, as they are crucial for understanding this student population.”

Dr. Amanda O. Latz, Professor of Higher Education and Community College Leadership, Ball State University

“The team behind Fat on Campus: The Voices and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia has captured the most raw, true to life experience of being a fat college student that I have ever found. If you care about social justice, inclusion, and creating a welcoming campus environment, this is a must-read!”

Kyle Holcomb, M.Ed., University of California, Irvine

“Fat on Campus: The Voices and Images of Fat College Students and the Impacts of Fatphobia is a thoughtful and artistic expression of fat-bodied students’ stories and experiences navigating a system that was not designed with them in mind. This critical exploration calls all educators to (re)consider campus spaces from classroom design to student organizations and from residential facilities to health and wellness resources. The authors of this beautifully written and long-awaited text are amplifying the voices of fat-bodied students in higher education and I’m here for it! Fat on Campus is sure to become a must read for any educator invested in designing collegiate environments for student success.”

Georgianna L. Martin, PhD, Associate Professor, Counseling & Human Development Services, University of Georgia

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Rayven N. Morrow

Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

Chapter 2: Introduction to the Study

Chapter 3: Fat in the Classroom

Chapter 4: Fat in Student Organizations and Social Spaces

Chapter 5: Fat in Greek Life

Chapter 6: Fat in Residential Community Spaces

Chapter 7: Fat in University Health Centers and Campus Wellness Spaces

Chapter 8: Fat AND…: The Multiple Minoritized Identities Chapter

Chapter 9: Our Love Letters

Epilogue: Fat on Campus Website and Resources

About the Authors

Index

Roshaunda L. Breeden

Roshaunda L. Breeden (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Opportunity, Equity, and Justice in the College of Education at North Carolina State University. Her practice and research interests revolve around equity and justice for Black students, families, and communities; fat students; and first-generation and low-income learners.

Meg E. Evans

Meg E. Evans (they/them) is an assistant professor of Higher and Adult Education in the Department of Leadership at the University of Memphis. With nearly two decades of experience as a student affairs practitioner before joining the professoriate, Dr. Evans' research focuses on advocacy, activism, and resistance practices in higher education, with a growing interest in the experiences of women, trans, and non-binary collegiate athletes. They are also a co-creator of the White Racial Engagement Model (WREM), a reflective tool designed to help white individuals critically examine their relationship to whiteness and take meaningful action toward racial justice. Through their scholarship and teaching, Dr. Evans seeks to cultivate learning environments that foster accountability, transformation, and collective liberation.

Terah J. Stewart

Terah J. Stewart (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Iowa State University. His research and writing focus on people, populations, and concepts in the margins of margins. Topics include sex work and erotic labor in higher education, fatphobia, sizeism, and anti-fat bias in higher education, antiblackness in non-Black communities of color and identity-based student activism.

Erin R. Weston

Erin R. Weston (she/her) is an Assistant Director in the Office for Student Success and Achievement at the University of Georgia. With over two decades of experience in higher education, she has been nationally recognized as an advocate for first-year college students. Her professional journey spans roles in university housing, academic advising, first-year experience initiatives, academic coaching, and peer education programs. Erin's research interests include white racial identity development, anti-racism in higher education, and the experiences of fat college students. She earned her B.A. in History and M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Kent State University, and her Ph.D. in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia. Erin is passionate about advocating for equity in education and fostering environments where all students can thrive. Outside of her professional work, Erin enjoys engaging in community activism, reading, and completing jigsaw puzzles. She lives with her husband, Al, in rural Georgia, and stays involved in the lives of her college-aged children, Torin and Alan.

Rachel Wagner

Rachel Wagner (she/her) serves as an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs in the Department of Educational and Organizational Leadership Development at Clemson University. The goal of her research is to understand how post-secondary environments can support human flourishing. Specifically, her scholarship centers critical and emancipatory perspectives of equity and social justice in higher education through proliferation of gender expansive practices and application of social justice tenets to student affairs praxis. Dr. Wagner lives, works, plays, and prays on the ancestral homelands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee and the Cherokee Nation, that were seized through diplomatic and military incursions by the US. As a fat scholar and former cook, she delights in juicy meals and juicier conversation.