Investing in Family
I have never spent a day in my life worrying for too long about money. My family is white and decidedly middle class, but in the years before I entered college, my mom was laid off and my father had to work two jobs. So, when I came to Yale, I received nearly full financial aid. It was wonderful to be in control of my future and not be weighed down by debt. I bragged to my high school friends that my college experience would be nearly free, better than any state school. Freshmen and sophomore year I didn't even feel the need to work a student job on campus besides maybe two hours a week as a science tour guide.
As a privileged, white, middle class student, I participate in institutions on campus that are almost entirely white, including the YDN. The editor and reporter relationship, while existing between two college peers, actually resembles the relationship between a boss and an employee. It is fraught with high expectations and potential criticisms. This kind of relationship can be especially off putting when no one at the YDN looks like you. Thankfully, I had white female role models through which I could picture my own success. But unfortunately my freshmen year that wasn't true for people of all races. Over time the YDN has become more diverse, but it's still not enough, and the ways in which we are unable to access and accurately represent communities of color on campus is evident in our reporting.
Over the past three years, my family contribution has increased significantly to almost double its original amount. This is due in part to my father's pay raise. If I were not in college, he would have likely quit his second job after receiving that pay raise. With my family's income paying for the Student Income Contribution, something he believes is important to allow me to enjoy the most fulfilling parts of college, he has not been able to quit his second job. He works from 8 am to midnight every weekday and spends most of his weekends sleeping and maintaining our house since my mother is on bedrest due to her severe chronic illness. We receive disability funds from the government but we do not have enough money to get a nurse for my mother that could visit daily or even weekly. The mixture of my mother's illness and the fear of financial instability were my father to quit his second job has led me to take on more jobs in my junior year. I now work ten to fifteen hours a week alongside 30 hours average a week for YDN. These long hours definitely take a toll on my academics. I often muse that if I didn't feel the need to have a student job and enjoy my time at YDN as much as I did, I could devote more hours to school work and be doing just as well as my peers.
I am mostly thankful to Yale for what they have been able to give me, which is a loan free education, but I am afraid that my family has had to prioritize my education over my mother's health in some circumstances. Not having to think about the student contribution would mean that my family could invest more in my mother's health. It would also mean that some institutions on campus, like the YDN which I love, could become a safer space, a space that does not have to be influenced by the politics of class and race. We could attract more reporters of diverse backgrounds which would make us a better organization with more accurate journalistic coverage of issues on campus.
As a privileged, white, middle class student, I participate in institutions on campus that are almost entirely white, including the YDN. The editor and reporter relationship, while existing between two college peers, actually resembles the relationship between a boss and an employee. It is fraught with high expectations and potential criticisms. This kind of relationship can be especially off putting when no one at the YDN looks like you. Thankfully, I had white female role models through which I could picture my own success. But unfortunately my freshmen year that wasn't true for people of all races. Over time the YDN has become more diverse, but it's still not enough, and the ways in which we are unable to access and accurately represent communities of color on campus is evident in our reporting.
Over the past three years, my family contribution has increased significantly to almost double its original amount. This is due in part to my father's pay raise. If I were not in college, he would have likely quit his second job after receiving that pay raise. With my family's income paying for the Student Income Contribution, something he believes is important to allow me to enjoy the most fulfilling parts of college, he has not been able to quit his second job. He works from 8 am to midnight every weekday and spends most of his weekends sleeping and maintaining our house since my mother is on bedrest due to her severe chronic illness. We receive disability funds from the government but we do not have enough money to get a nurse for my mother that could visit daily or even weekly. The mixture of my mother's illness and the fear of financial instability were my father to quit his second job has led me to take on more jobs in my junior year. I now work ten to fifteen hours a week alongside 30 hours average a week for YDN. These long hours definitely take a toll on my academics. I often muse that if I didn't feel the need to have a student job and enjoy my time at YDN as much as I did, I could devote more hours to school work and be doing just as well as my peers.
I am mostly thankful to Yale for what they have been able to give me, which is a loan free education, but I am afraid that my family has had to prioritize my education over my mother's health in some circumstances. Not having to think about the student contribution would mean that my family could invest more in my mother's health. It would also mean that some institutions on campus, like the YDN which I love, could become a safer space, a space that does not have to be influenced by the politics of class and race. We could attract more reporters of diverse backgrounds which would make us a better organization with more accurate journalistic coverage of issues on campus.
