The Associated Students of Colorado State University organized the first-ever Colorado Basic Needs Summit April 9, beginning what they hope to be an annual tradition of collaborative community outreach. Hosted by CSU Spur in Denver, the event was attended by six nonprofit organizations and 13 colleges across Colorado, bringing together a multitude of perspectives, disciplines and areas of expertise. Jorja Whyte, the ASCSU director of basic needs, said the conference gave students an opportunity to brainstorm and work with larger advocacy organizations. “(Students) understand what initiatives and what solutions and what programming is going to be effective and what's going to work,” Whyte said. “That's kind of what we wanted to create with the summit, is a space and time for professionals, and with a high focus on students to be able to talk about the work that they're doing, share best practices, be able to build relationships and connections with one another and then be able to alig...