First-Generation and Low-Income Students Push WSA to Pass Resolution

, by Nat Warner, Tess Morgan, Contributing Writer and News Editor

Ninety students attended the WSA meeting on Sunday to discuss the issue.

Jonas Powell, Assistant Photo Editor

Over 90 students packed into the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) General Assembly meeting on Sunday, Feb. 22, to discuss first-generation college students at the University. Specifically, the meeting addressed a resolution, proposed by Aidan Martinez ’17, to provide greater resources to first-generation students. This proposal  sparked controversy after two first-generation students on the WSA left a committee hearing on the issue last weekend, Feb. 15, in tears.

The resolution calls for implementing cultural understanding training every four weeks for WSA members, expanding the resources available to first-generation students, and creating a support system for first-generation students through advisor training programs, more stringent advisor selection, and first-generation community building efforts. The resolution passed with a unanimous vote of 27, but the preceding weekend was at the forefront of students’ minds.

Attendees at the Feb. 15 meeting accused WSA members of being callous toward the lived experiences of first-generation students. Leah Cabrera ’17, one of the two first-generation students and WSA members who walked out of the hearing, recounted her feelings.

“I felt like last week was really more of an attack rather than trying to present ideas,” Cabrera said. “I felt like they were attacking [Martinez] and undermining his emotions and the emotions of first-generation students on campus.”

Brenda Quintana ’18, the other first-generation WSA member to walk out, echoed Cabrera.

“I want to be able to represent [marginalized] voices, and that’s why I joined WSA in the first place, because I wanted to be a first-generation student of color who could speak on those issues, and I couldn’t,” Quintana said. “I felt like I couldn’t bring myself to speak because it was us-and-them. And with me and Leah both having to leave the room, I felt bad; I felt really weak at that moment, like I couldn’t do much.”

Martinez also described his experiences at the Feb. 15 meeting.

“It really reached the epitome when one of the members referred to us as ‘those people,’ and at that point I just lost it,” Martinez said. “That’s essentially what happened [last] Sunday.”

The accounts of Cabera, Quinana, and Martinez resonated across campus and catalyzed a movement against the behavior of WSA members at that hearing. Martinez and Sadasia McCutchen ’17 created a Facebook event entitled “Shut. It. Down.”

“It’s time that people of color, low-income, first-generation, queer, and any other identifier that the WSA does not represent [band] together to enact permanent, long-lasting institutional change that requires these individuals to be accountable for their actions,” the event description read.

Some WSA members were apologetic following the Feb. 15 meeting and reached out to students who felt offended.

Madison Moore ’16, also a first-generation college student and a member of the WSA who was not present at the Feb. 15 meeting, spoke in defense of the purpose of the WSA.

“There’s a lot of issues on campus, there’s a lot of minorities and under-heard people who just don’t have a voice in campus politics, campus activities—everything to do with the campus—and it’s really important that the administration know about them,but it’s my feeling…that is what we [on the WSA] are there for,” Moore said.

Students at the Feb. 22 meeting brought up the difficulties that low-income students on the WSA face. For example, students who hold multiple jobs may not have time to attend the WSA’s weekly 3-hour meetings. WSA President Grant Tanenbaum ’15 shared the steps that the WSA has taken to be more inclusive.

“I think it’s valuable, some of the little things we’re doing to try to make this a little more accessible to students,” Tanenbaum said. “We’ve capped all meeting time lengths to sort of make it a set time schedule…. We’re also submitting our final proposal to the Financial Aid Office to create a stipend for WSA members on financial aid…. This has been something we’ve been kicking around for about a year now, but it is complicated.”

Throughout the meeting, students repeatedly called for calm and consideration in making comments, and asked participants to refrain from personal attacks. At one point, a WSA member requested a two-minute period of quiet to ease tensions. At this juncture, Martinez interjected.

“I do not want to be silent because you don’t want to deal with the issues that students face on campus,” Martinez said.

Moore acknowledged the intensity that the meeting reached.

“It’s always hard in a setting like this with so many people coming in and having so much anger and emotions,” Moore said. “It’s really hard to have a discussion that doesn’t turn into something that’s going to be hard to regulate and something that doesn’t overflow with emotions. Everybody wants to get their opinions heard, and we try our best.”

Like Martinez, McCutchen believes that the events of the Feb. 15 meeting are representative of feelings that have existed for a long time.

“What happened last Sunday was certainly the tipping point, but this was something that has been festering for a long time and this is something that [for] students of color [on] the student assembly has always been an issue,” McCutchen said. “Having people feel that the Assembly is actually representative—that doesn’t exist.”

Torii Johnson ’17, Wesleyan’s Quest Liaison and a first-generation college student, also spoke out about the WSA at the Feb. 22 meeting.

“This structure is the problem,” Johnson said. “This institution is the problem.”

Martinez contended that passing the resolution only reflects political self-preservation by WSA members.

“Everything they wanted me to change last week [in the resolution], I essentially kept the same and it really shows you that they didn’t really look into it or really care about it; they just wanted to get through this,” Martinez said.

Moore added that he doesn’t think the discussion should end here.

“I’d say [the conversation] was productive, but it’s not complete,” Moore said. “I think there’s a lot more to be said; I think there’s a lot more that needs to be done.”

Additional reporting by Contributing Writer Matthew Wallock.

  • k.d. lang’s mangina

    “This structure is the problem,” Johnson said. “This institution is the problem.”

    This could be the Wesleyan mantra, emblazoned on the walls of every dorm room and chalked sidewalk. Hell, I think we should put it on the student IDs right underneath the class year.

    Everything is the problem. Everything needs to be attacked and changed. Everything is an oppressor. Always.

    Said from the lips of students who attend an elite New England liberal arts school.

    Honestly, get over yourselves. You are not oppressed. You are over sensitive and desperately seeking a cause. Your reasons for attending the school and the context in which you do attend are inconsequential. It doesn’t matter if you are first-generation or not. You are there. You are the recipient of privileged, elitist largesse whether you realize it or not.

    • meep

      A comment on your comment: I have to say that your post reads to me like an attack. I would ask you to please refrain from attacking those who decide to speak up over the issues of privilege on a privileged university campus. Getting into college isn’t the only challenging part of college. And there are ways to make the experience a bit more tolerable and productive for anyone and everyone.

      • k.d. lang’s mangina

        These people speaking up about privilege on a privileged university campus ARE privileged–they are receiving the same privileged education as their privileged classmates. Whether or not your parents attended college or are footing the entire tuition bill does not matter.

        How am I so sure of this? Because I am one of them–a Wes alum from a first-generation family who attended only because of significant grants and financial aid. It smacks of ill-conceived and poorly-aimed jealousy and contempt for those first generation students to attack rich classmates, seeing as the only reason they are acquainted with these “privileged oppressors” is because they attend the same elite private liberal arts school. When you attend Wes, you become part of the club–whether you or your try-hard street cred likes it or not.

      • Speaking as another first-generation Alumna, I have to say I disagree. Yes, attending Wes is a privilege, but there are huge disadvantages to being first-gen/low-income. My parents offered very little support while I was there, for example, and I ran into a lot of problems that I didn’t have anyone to ask about. How do I do taxes, how do I get health insurance that covers more of my medical bills (I have a chronic illness), how do I deal with the emotions that come with feeling like I have one foot in my working-class background and one in the elite Wesleyan environment without being able to reconcile the two? Granted, that last I spoke to a therapist about. But there were only a few little-known-of resources for people struggling financially with no help from home. The health center had a fund they could use to cover some of my medical expenses, and did from time to time give me medicine without charging me for it. I knew about it because they knew me well and told me. Taxes? I asked the financial aid office for help and they told me there was none.

        Also, ‘overly-sensitive’? If caring about our own experiences and having them heard and represented on campus is being overly-sensitive, then I want more overly-sensitive people speaking up on campus about all sorts of issues. You could say the same thing about women being ‘overly-sensitive’ about misogyny and would still be wrong.

      • k.d. lang’s mangina

        Your experiences and feelings are yours, and I can’t doubt them. I’m sure there are others that felt the same way.

        But I do see it as overly-sensitive, even after you explained it. Because what you described–the finding help with taxes, medical costs, etc–is real life, what the average American (including hundreds of thousands of college students cross the country) deals with all the time. Bitching that one doesn’t receive enough help on the Wesleyan campus, and that this isn’t fair because the other wealthy students don’t have to worry about such things, IS overly-sensitive. Sometimes in life you just need to step up and DO things without someone holding your hand or giving you help the entire way.

        Also, comparing the complaints of first-generational college students at Wes to misogyny is ludicrous and hyperbolic. You and I both know that.

      • L

        Good Lord. Did your immigrant ancestors have therapists to help them through their challenges? Mine did not. That alone tells how lucky we are. As for taxes, in every community I know of, there are people who volunteer to give tax assistance for free to those who need it. In my small home town, a friend is part of a group that has provided assistance to over 2000 people in the last 10 weeks. Are you so incurious as to stop when the financial aid office turns you down,? Apparently. This alone shows that you are responsible for your own problem with the taxes.

      • Actually, I did end up going somewhere–in my home state. Because I was technically a dependent, I ended up having to file under my mother in my home state. I’m lucky I was able to make that sort of trip, though, because home was within a few hours’ driving distance; other people aren’t so lucky.

        I was surprised Wes didn’t have even a referral for taxes since I was used to the community college in my hometown offering that sort of assistance as a matter of course.

        Also, I like how you say I should have used this tax resource at the same time as denigrating my use of another resource (therapy) because my ancestors didn’t have it.

      • L

        Of course Lang’s post is an attack. That’s the point. If you speak up, you may get attacked for your point of view. It’s called vigorous debate. Defend yourself. If you can.

  • k.d. lang’s mangina

    “This structure is the problem,” Johnson said. “This institution is the problem.”

    This could be the Wesleyan mantra, emblazoned on the walls of every dorm room and chalked sidewalk. Hell, I think we should put it on the student IDs right underneath the class year.

    Everything is the problem. Everything needs to be attacked and changed. Everything is an oppressor. Always.

    Said from the lips of students who attend an elite New England liberal arts school.

    Honestly, get over yourselves. You are not oppressed. You are over sensitive and desperately seeking a cause. Your reasons for attending the school and the context in which you do attend are inconsequential. It doesn’t matter if you are first-generation or not. You are there. You are the recipient of privileged, elitist largesse whether you realize it or not.

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