A Tax for Not Being Born into the Elite
I’m a political science major; however, I can’t work a political science research job, as they pay too little and don’t offer enough hours. I also can’t intern with the City of New Haven, because I won’t get paid. In addition, I can’t spend nearly as much time as I’d like to volunteering with community organizations in the city because during business hours when I’m not in class, I’m at work.
I work eleven hours a week at my job fixing computers just to break even on the student income contribution - and I’m still going into debt to pay for a Yale education that was promised to be affordable, loan-free, and inclusive. Eleven hours a week is a lot of time for a Yale student. It’s another class, another extracurricular, another time for relaxation and mental health that’s systematically afforded to my peers at this university not on financial aid and denied to those of us who are.
The student income contribution is a tax for not being born into the elite class of citizens for whose children Yale was founded. As a result, Yale belongs to white people; it belongs to wealthy people. And nobody else. While the student income contribution exists, Yale cannot provide the inclusive, equitable education to which it aspires.
I work eleven hours a week at my job fixing computers just to break even on the student income contribution - and I’m still going into debt to pay for a Yale education that was promised to be affordable, loan-free, and inclusive. Eleven hours a week is a lot of time for a Yale student. It’s another class, another extracurricular, another time for relaxation and mental health that’s systematically afforded to my peers at this university not on financial aid and denied to those of us who are.
The student income contribution is a tax for not being born into the elite class of citizens for whose children Yale was founded. As a result, Yale belongs to white people; it belongs to wealthy people. And nobody else. While the student income contribution exists, Yale cannot provide the inclusive, equitable education to which it aspires.
