"I Just Work Here"
My family is white and relatively lower middle class for the rural Mississippi town I grew up in. However, we fall well below the cap to receive full financial aid. The only reason I applied to Yale when deciding between community colleges was because a representative at an info session told me that my Yale experience would be entirely free, that even my books would be covered by their financial aid system.
After I got in, I found out that was a lie.
The financial aid website says that the student income contribution can easily be met by working "9-10" hours a week. Check the website if you want, it still says it. On average, I work 17-19.5 hours a week at my student job. I rarely work below 15.
I’ve had professors tell me I should work less because the amount of time I spend working affects my schoolwork. I’ve had friends tell me I should take more summer internships and build my resume. They don’t realize I can’t take unpaid internships, or even internships where I can’t make a considerable profit, because I have to make enough money to stay enrolled.
Sometimes, I skip lectures and take more shifts. Lately, I skip shifts because I can’t get out of bed.
The student income contribution has dramatically altered my Yale experience. I don’t have time to devote to things that make me happy like sports or music. Because of the student income contribution, I don’t have the time to take care of myself.
When I’m introduced to a new person and they can’t figure out what my “thing” is on campus, I often make the joke, “Oh, I don’t really go here. I just work here.”
As a white person, I can count on having multiple professors each semester who look like me, and when I get involved in student groups I can be assured that most of my peers there will share my experiences as a white person. I can look around and see how this institution has catered itself as a school for and run by people of my racial background, even if not my financial background. But low income students of color on this campus do not have that privilege.
The student income contribution is a reminder to low income students that this community, this school, was not built for us, and that we do not belong here. For students of color, this reminder is even greater. I am depressed, exhausted, and I’ll admit, scared. It’s hard to find the strength to keep fighting each week as I balance school work with the shifts I need to make at my job. I need the student income contribution gone for the sake of my mental and emotional health. I need it eliminated, or I’m just not going to be able to stay.
After I got in, I found out that was a lie.
The financial aid website says that the student income contribution can easily be met by working "9-10" hours a week. Check the website if you want, it still says it. On average, I work 17-19.5 hours a week at my student job. I rarely work below 15.
I’ve had professors tell me I should work less because the amount of time I spend working affects my schoolwork. I’ve had friends tell me I should take more summer internships and build my resume. They don’t realize I can’t take unpaid internships, or even internships where I can’t make a considerable profit, because I have to make enough money to stay enrolled.
Sometimes, I skip lectures and take more shifts. Lately, I skip shifts because I can’t get out of bed.
The student income contribution has dramatically altered my Yale experience. I don’t have time to devote to things that make me happy like sports or music. Because of the student income contribution, I don’t have the time to take care of myself.
When I’m introduced to a new person and they can’t figure out what my “thing” is on campus, I often make the joke, “Oh, I don’t really go here. I just work here.”
As a white person, I can count on having multiple professors each semester who look like me, and when I get involved in student groups I can be assured that most of my peers there will share my experiences as a white person. I can look around and see how this institution has catered itself as a school for and run by people of my racial background, even if not my financial background. But low income students of color on this campus do not have that privilege.
The student income contribution is a reminder to low income students that this community, this school, was not built for us, and that we do not belong here. For students of color, this reminder is even greater. I am depressed, exhausted, and I’ll admit, scared. It’s hard to find the strength to keep fighting each week as I balance school work with the shifts I need to make at my job. I need the student income contribution gone for the sake of my mental and emotional health. I need it eliminated, or I’m just not going to be able to stay.
