Classism in Universities

Universities have long been marketed as a way for underprivileged students to lift themselves out of poverty and better their lives. Recently on The View Sonny Hostin got into an argument with Whoopi Goldberg about the ability of education to change your social status in the US saying,

"I’ve said it over and over again, an education is the great equalizer in this country and this world.”

This a deeply held belief rooted in the rhetoric around education: that it serves underprivileged groups by giving them the opportunity for class mobility. While it is true that higher education is often the only path for working class children to gain access to white collar jobs, the education system is far from the Great Equalizer: it is in no way geared toward helping lower class students, with universities often failing to support them, making them feel alienated and ultimately leading them to drop in out in disproportionally large numbers.

This marginalization that manifests in both interpersonal and institutional classism. On an interpersonal level, students from the working class and working poor face discriminatory attitudes from students who are ignorant about the lived experience of those who lack resources. Negative stereotypes about lower class background are frequently reiterated by middle and upper middle class, and upper class students without thinking about the impact that might have on their peers who come from those background. In addition, it is more difficult to make friends when financial barriers get in the way of participating in costly social events. Even wearing the right clothing to find acceptance can be impossible for underprivileged students, increasing the sense of isolation that comes with being surrounded by excess wealth and being unable to participate.

The other kind of classism is institutional, which is baked into the very fabric of the university policies. This shows itself in the expectations from the administration and professors that assumes that all students have financial and familial support from a young age with issues such as: classes expecting such a large time commitment that working a part time job is not possible, the assumption that all students have a quiet and safe place to study, testing practices that favor cultural reference points that lower class students do not have, linguistic prejudice, the prevalence of cost-prohibitive extracurricular activities, and many others. This shows that the university itself perpetuates classism in its very infrastructure.

This leads to lower class students having a much harder time becoming acclimated to college life and impedes their success both academically and socially. In turn, this means that those students drop out in much high rates than their more privileged counter parts. Sadly, college is a hostile environment to the people who rely on it the most for social mobility; the outcome is then a reinforcement of these students social standing but with the added disadvantage of student debt without even the reward of a degree.

The college system needs to examine its biases and harmful narratives about the working class and working poor. The truth is that they are victims of an exploitative system and are not to blame for their lack of resources and opportunity. This myth of meritocracy which perpetuates the idea that only the hardest working people are rewarded with wealth and success needs to die once and for all. Only then can the university hope to become and equalizer of any kind.