Written by Zamaria for the CSULA Coalition Quarterly
“Go to school Mij@, so you don’t have to work a hard as your Ma.”
Whether it’s from a family member, friend, or close loved one, we all
Written by Zamaria for the CSULA Coalition Quarterly
“Go to school Mij@, so you don’t have to work a hard as your Ma.”
Whether it’s from a family member, friend, or close loved one, we all have heard it before; that obtaining a college diploma is the key component to economic stability and prosperity. It is believed that a college diploma will increase if not guarantee students’ ability to qualify for a well-paid job. However, pursuing a college diploma is very different for students who come from working class families, who aside from taking college courses, clock into work to make ends meet. For a majority of students who come from working class backgrounds, their financial conditions dictate (how) their journey to obtaining a college diploma will look like.
Working Class Students
College students who come from a working class background are expected to become the next breadwinners for their families. They are often expected to both provide financially for themselves and for their families while attending school. This reality exists because of the widespread idea of what role education plays when applying to jobs. But most importantly, this expectation is a result of economic necessity. That is to say, there is an absence or already existing struggle for financial stability at home. Precisely because of the financial hardships and responsibilities students face is the reason these very same struggling students make up the growing number of students going into debt.
Is this a Coincidence?
No, student debt begins when a large pool of students do not have the financial means to pay tuition up front with their meager wages, and their families can not foot the growing costs of education. For working class students, loans are one of the main if not only options to afford the increasing cost of public college education. Still,access to these state loans do not alleviate students completely or even immediately from the financial burdens they might face. While scholarships may be available, these resources are accessible for a few select minority and not the majority. So what options do working class students have when pursuing a college diploma?
– Take out some loans and still work part time in order to pay basic living necessities (i.e. clothing, housing, food, gas, etc.) and attempt to pay off the loans (which increase due to interest rates) upon obtaining their college diploma and hopefully finding a decent job.
– Take out an increasing amount of loans in order to go to school full time without having to worry about immediate living necessities and attempt to pay off the college loans after graduation.
– Apply to scholarships, which are usually merit based or sometimes on financial need but only available to limited students who qualify. ***Also it is important to note that full residents take full priority over undocumented students, who are among those struggling most to access to higher education.
Either way, the two main options available for the majority of students do not include the option of being free from economic burden. On the contrary, the options reinforce the need for students to work, pushing them to become a slave to the wage, in order to pursue a college diploma.
In addition to having to choose between limited financial options to support their education, students often lack the option to choose their major of interest. Because of the financial reality of struggling to support oneself in an economy suffering from a lack of job availability and well paid jobs, students are often discour