Today, I went to a discussion about class in the Women’s Union.
Pomona has a lot of these types of things, but I really haven’t taken the initiative to go to them. My spibling Catherine invited me to go with her, so I thought, Why not? Also free food.
The walk there was an adventure—I screamed as I nearly stepped on a dead squirrel.
We arrived a little late, so the panel was already in mid-discussion. The room was full, so we had to sit on the ground.
From what I gathered, there were three student speakers—one undocumented student, one QuestBridge Scholar, and one student from a wealthier background. There was a moderator who asked questions, and the three-student panel each chipped in to answer the questions.
Discussion topics ranged from having high-income students interact with low-income students to make the high-income students more “cultured” and “experienced,” to what career goals the panelists had in mind and how they differed from those that their parents had for them.
Something that stuck with me was the fact that they mentioned little is done at Pomona’s freshman orientation to discuss class, while a lot is done to discuss race, gender, and sexuality. Also, I thought it was interesting that the undocumented student (I really don’t know their names, so I apologize) mentioned that, coming into college—especially Pomona—she thought that everybody would have the goal of pursuing a high-paying job. She was surprised to find out that some had plans to get into non-profit work. I actually have thought the same thing.
I really wish I’d recorded the discussion to quote from it.
At any rate, it was a good thing I attended the talk, because I thought it was pretty relevant. Being a student on financial aid from a low-income background, I really enjoyed hearing the thoughts of those from backgrounds unlike that which I experienced.