Too Exhausted To Make Yale Better
As a low-income, first-generation, trans, latinx student with mental health issues, I have a lot of stakes in getting the student income contribution eliminated. I’ve taken out loans to cover my student income contribution while at Yale. It’s stressful, because I was under the impression that Yale met 100% of need and that I would be able to graduate debt free. I’m in my junior year and I owe around $8,000. This doesn’t seem like much, but as a poor person, paying back $8,000 is the same as having to pay back $50,000 or $100,000. I just can’t imagine that amount of money, it’s too much. It sucks that I have to have a job if I want to stay here. Lately, I’ve been dealing with a lot of mental health issues related to my transition that have literally kept me bedridden, and I can’t make the hours that I need in order to pay my bills and take care of myself.
I would love to dedicate more of my time to being involved in things that help advance the place of students of color, that help reshape Yale into a place that is more inclusive of people like me, but I have very little energy or time left for student activism when I’m also trying to do work for five classes, to work two jobs, to take care of myself during my transition, and to stay involved in things on campus that keep me happy. The people who want to work towards making Yale a better place are often too tired to do so because they’re holding down work study jobs, repaying loans, paying bills, and even supporting their families back home. I need the student income contribution to be eliminated, because having to work to pay off its effects on my life is keeping me from having a healthy and well-rounded Yale experience. It’s affecting my mental health, and I need it gone, now
I would love to dedicate more of my time to being involved in things that help advance the place of students of color, that help reshape Yale into a place that is more inclusive of people like me, but I have very little energy or time left for student activism when I’m also trying to do work for five classes, to work two jobs, to take care of myself during my transition, and to stay involved in things on campus that keep me happy. The people who want to work towards making Yale a better place are often too tired to do so because they’re holding down work study jobs, repaying loans, paying bills, and even supporting their families back home. I need the student income contribution to be eliminated, because having to work to pay off its effects on my life is keeping me from having a healthy and well-rounded Yale experience. It’s affecting my mental health, and I need it gone, now
