At a University where annual tuition and fees amount to approximately $54,000 annually, the First Generation College Student Coalition has emerged as a forum for first-generation students to discuss issues of class and develop a support network.
“I think that since this is such a wealthy school and such a wealthy student body, it’s important to recognize that not everyone has this tradition of going to college in their family,” said Barbaralynn Moseman ’13, a member of the organization. “The students here all talk about social justice issues and people talk about people who are recipients of welfare and food stamps like they’re ‘the other,’ but we have these people right here.”
Created by Cristine Khan ’13, who identifies as a first-generation student, the group, which met for the first time on Feb. 13, aims to serve as a place where students such as Khan can make their voices heard.
“Issues of class are not really brought to light on campus,” Khan said. “Class is something that is kind of understated and isn’t talked about and we’re hoping to change that.”
Khan said that she first had the idea to create the group when she lived in 200 Church last year with fellow group member Joseph Cribb ’13. She said that 200 Church’s diverse environment, including students from backgrounds similar to hers, was conducive to bonding and discussion of class issues.
“I found Joseph and other members of 200 Church were facing similar issues of class,” she said. “We would have these really deep conversations in the night about how we felt out of place sometimes and it was nice that we had each other to support each other.”
Khan noted that she was further inspired by last year’s Commencement, which featured a reception celebrating the graduation of first-generation students, organized by members of the class of 2010. This was the first event of its type at the University, according to Khan and Dean for Diversity and Student Engagement Renee Johnson-Thornton.
Johnson-Thornton said that the celebration of the students’ graduation served to affirm part of their identity and was the realization of their family members’ dreams to go to college.
“It was big,” she said. “It wasn’t just a right of passage.”
Johnson-Thornton later met with Khan to discuss the formation of the coalition.
“The reality is that many of our students are first in their families to go to college, even in 2011,” Johnson-Thornton said. “There are certain challenges that face students which mean that they may not have the familiarity with how you [navigate] a college environment.”
President Michael Roth, who identifies as a first-generation student, said that he recognizes the need for such students to get support from the University.
“When I got to Wesleyan, everyone seemed so prepared and knew a lot more than I did,” he said. “Back then I thought, ‘Am I supposed to know this stuff? Am I the only one who doesn’t understand?’ It was important for me to get support from the school.”
According to Roth, the admissions office began working with the admissions program Questbridge over two years ago. Questbridge helps low-income students with applying to top colleges and helps them find ways to finance their education. According to Roth, the program has also helped bring first-generation students to the University.
“We want to provide solidarity or camaraderie, without isolation,” Roth said. “It’s a great thing that a place like Wesleyan can have a significant number of first generation college students.”
Johnson-Thornton also said that she was intrigued by how the body of first-generation students can cut across other categories such as race, religion, and geography. She added that issues surrounding first-generation status could be tricky to deal with from an administrative standpoint, which means that the issues may not be talked about as much as they should be.
“Sometimes an administrator’s not quite sure whether highlighting a certain aspect of someone’s identity can make them feel included or excluded,” she said. “We didn’t know whether it would be affirming or alienating to highlight someone of first-generation college status. There might be certain assumptions that people make about folks if they tie first-generation to that person.”
Khan, Cribb, and Moseman said that it is sometimes the little things that highlight the experience of a first-generation student. Khan recounted her experience at Homecoming weekend.
“I was reminded again of how my parents had never been to a Homecoming and how I wouldn’t really feel comfortable with them being at Homecoming because a lot of the events center around lectures and activities intended for parents who have been to college,” she said.
Moseman said that differences are also seen in the classroom and while searching for summer activities.
“In class, people will talk about traveling and professors will think nothing of saying things like, ‘when you’ve been to Italy…’” she said. “The hands go up for going to another country and you’re the only person in the room who hasn’t traveled at all, and that’s a little uncomfortable. There’s the fact that maybe you don’t have the connections to certain internships because your parents aren’t high on the career ladder.”
As of now, the group consists of 14 members who are mostly friends of Khan and Cribb. Cribb said that first-generation students tend to find each other.
“I think as students who have a certain status like this, we tend to find each other and find people who are allies, so most people have been very supportive,” he said.
The group hopes to expand in the coming semester, however Cribb noted that it can be difficult to identify students who might be interested in joining, but that there are lots of students out there who may be interested.
“It’s hard to assume that someone is first-generation because not everyone wants to identify that way,” he said. “There are statistics on the website that say roughly 15 percent of each class is first-generation, and that’s a lot of students.”
Moseman said that the group would also be willing to include students who aren’t necessarily first-generation, but that come from an economically disadvantaged background and want to discuss issues of class.
According to Khan, the group hopes to facilitate another first-generation celebration at this year’s Commencement, as well as to secure funding to finance future events, such as mixers and potentially a student publication.
“I would love to do a publication,” Moseman said. “Nothing too political—just a collection of personal stories.”
Khan said that she would also like to see some sort of first-generation programming during Freshman Orientation, and that the group also hopes to start a mentoring program.
“We want to be a strong support system, we don’t want to be victimizing ourselves,” she said. “We want to be a group that acknowledges that we’re all coming from this disadvantaged place, but it’s a good thing that we’re here right now and we want people to feel good about being here.”
The First Generation College Student Coalition meets in Usdan 108 Sundays at 4 p.m., room subject to change. They can be reached by e-mail at wesfirstgen@gmail.com.
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