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Stanford students ‘who claim to be Jain (but aren’t)’: Viral note alleges plan to dodge $7,944 campus meals
Stanford University student Elsa Johnson alleged that a large section of students “game the system” to gain academic and housing perks.
An essay by a Stanford University student, revealing that a significant section of students at the elite institution claim to have disabilities in some form in order to gain several exemptions, is making waves on the internet.
Elsa Johnson, a student of International Relations and East Asian Studies at Stanford, claimed that students in her university registered themselves as persons with a disability for perks. In her essay published in The Times, she termed the rampant practice as "gaming the system". The students in the disabled category ended up getting the "best housing on campus" and other perks, such as extra time to take tests, extra absences from classes, and more time to submit their assignments, she said.
‘Students who claim to be Jain (but aren’t)’
Johnson, the editor-in-chief of the student-run Stanford Review newspaper, also claimed that some Stanford students cite religious dietary restrictions to avoid the mandatory $7,944 ( ₹7.18 lakh) meal plan on campus.
"And so, some students I know claim to be devout members of the Jain faith, which rejects any food that may cause harm to all living creatures — including small insects and root vegetables," Johnson wrote.
“The students I know who claim to be Jain (but aren’t) spend their meal money at Whole Foods instead and enjoy freshly made salads and other yummy dishes, while the rest of us are stuck with college meals, like burgers made partly from 'mushroom mix'.”
Stanford's website shared the detailed fee break-up of the various meal plans available to students.
“All undergrad students living on campus (except in Mirrielees) are required to be on a meal plan but students can switch their dining hall meal plan the first three weeks of the quarter,” a note on the website says.
Elsa Johnson, who enrolled at the univerity in 2023, decided to claim her endometriosis as a disability. She said it took her just 30 minutes to register as a student with a disability after a Zoom call with a woman at the Stanford Office of Accessible Education. Her perks now include a private accommodation, extra absences from class, "some late days on assignments and a 15-minute tardiness allowance for all of my classes".
Stanford student says more some disability claims are ‘downright silly’
Johnson said she has seen students claiming a disability designation for disorders like ADHD and anxiety. “And some ‘disabilities’ are just downright silly. Students claim ‘night terrors’; others say they ‘get easily distracted’ or they ‘can’t live with others’,” she wrote.
38 per cent Stanford students registered as disabled
This academic year, 38 per cent of Stanford University undergraduates are registered as having a disability, according to a report in The Atlantic. The report said that several prestigious American universities are seeing an increasing number of students registering themselves as disabled for physical and mental health conditions such as ADHD and anxiety.
At Brown and Harvard, more than 20 per cent of undergraduates are registered as disabled, The Atlantic report says.
