Counterintuitive

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Coming from a low-income family, the biggest obstacle to my coming to college was always money. One of four children, all very close in age, it was always understood that our parents would be unable to financially contribute to our educations. When I got into Yale, I was elated to find out how generous the financial aid was, and when I was asked to pay for the Student Income Contribution, I initially didn't think twice about my having to pay something in return for the incredible opportunity I was being offered. But, the more I learned about the Student Income Contribution, the less sense it made. Why would only low-income students have to prove their worth – literally -- to this university? Is it not counterintuitive to ask students, many of which are financially supporting their own families, to also contribute an arbitrary amount of money to Yale, just to show that they are capable of “working hard” for what they have? The politics of deservingness surrounding the Student Income Contribution are concerning and honestly demoralizing, and that is why the university should take more seriously the concerns of students with this unnecessary call for them “contribute.”