December 9, 2016 - 20:54
Our project, ‘Invisible identities’ attempted to learn more about the experiences of low income and first generation students at Bryn Mawr and in higher education in general. For me the main points of our findings were that:
1) Both low income and first generation students face significant challenges (often arising out of a lack of resources at home and in past education) that make college a more difficult and stressful experience, in which they face a lower statistical probability of succeeding.
2) Bryn Mawr provides an experience of which aspects can be problematic for students from these groups (although compared to other institutions it is at least average in efforts made towards providing financial aid and supporting socioeconomic diversity).
3) One way in which Bryn Mawr could improve is in comprehensive outreach and guidance for first generation students who may have fewer resources to call upon in order to navigate college in general. One suggestion is a mentorship program.
4) There is a lack of ability to acknowledge socioeconomics in interpersonal interactions at Bryn Mawr that creates, possibly among other things, frustration and anxiety for low income students.
5) Certain structural aspects at Bryn Mawr play into the challenges facing these students. Namely, wage inequity for dining hall workers were most students with work/study are employed, and a sense that dining hall workers are put in the spotlight where their work study status is advertised.
I think at this point the most important group to be aware of these discoveries are students. While the administration will have to play a role in implementing different work/study policies this is an issue that they already acknowledge. That said, I do not know what the administration’s awareness of first generation students is like- they may need to hear that more support programs, such as a mentoring network, are called for. Where students can play a role is in addressing the cultural lack of awareness and avoidance of socio-economics. Those most poised to educate student body are probably student groups, and it is them with whom it might be most productive to share this project. I know there is a club focused on raising the wage for dining hall workers and they might be interested in getting involved in such an initiative.
I thought it was interesting how all the projects seemed to connect. Many of the projects focused on contact zones at Bryn Mawr in particular and I felt like as a whole they really named an aspect of our culture that needs changing. It may just have been that I had it in mind, but I definitely heard our topic of “invisible identities” in many of them. There seems to be an idea that while Bryn Mawr does many things write there is a desire to avoid conflict that means people don’t go out of their comfort zones, and create a “culture of politeness” where certain things are simply not acknowledged.