Opinion: College is a prime location for financial conversations. A lack of understanding lower socioeconomic groups, however, quickly becomes exhausting.
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It takes fewer than five minutes of walking on the University of Oregon’s campus for me to realize what a privilege higher education is. The history of privilege in colleges pervades present-day universities, especially given rising tuition rates. Students and professors alike participate in privileged conversations, and despite my financial identification with the middle class, I am infuriated by the lack of socioeconomic understanding.
UO is the most expensive public university in Oregon. I’ve heard many conversations regarding the financial stress of attending this university. There is a broke college student stereotype that many individuals claim to identify with, but the wording of this joke is harmful.
Broke implies that these students have no amount of money. It implies that these students are financially worse off than in reality. Its overuse discards those who experience low socioeconomic statuses.
Professors, too, commonly use this phrase when talking about class materials. They often joke about the poorness of college students, which is true to some extent. But it removes any spectrum of wealth and assumes financial accessibility to be equal. Unequal socioeconomic status is highly visible in the amount of student workers.
In 2020, 40% of undergraduate students were employed. While this varies per university, there are undoubtedly some students who rely on employment while others have the luxury of avoiding it.
Having a job while also being a full-time student provides its own set of challenges. Office hours are harder to attend, the amount of time for homework is constricted and extracurricular involvement is limited. Some students, however, need the income.
According to an Education Data report updated in 2022, 25% of students worked extra hours to pay for class books and materials and 11% skipped meals in order to manage the purchase. Professors may attempt to laugh off class expenses, but the struggles some students face in order to cover them are extremely serious.
While textbooks and class materials are sometimes a financial burden on me, I am privileged enough to be able to purchase them without much stress. I consider my spending outside of academics frugal, but that is a choice I am able to make, not a necessity to my educational career.
Much of this resource gap exposes itself through technology. Since we live in such a high-tech climate, it is nearly impossible for some to navigate classes without the same machinery. Even minor examples of this technology gap exist.
The iPhone versus Android debate exposes financial inequality. It is true that most iPhones are much higher quality than Androids. Some are also far more expensive. In many classes, when smartphones are necessary for assignments, this gap in quality is ignored. My frugality has led me to be an Android user, but it can be frustrating when professors fail to acknowledge the additional challenges cheaper phones pose. Androids are often slower than iPhones, they have worse cameras and they don’t have the same apps that iPhones do.
Recognition of these financial inequalities is the most effective method of approach to avoiding privileged and elitist language. It is the only way to stop the harmful comments, even when they are aided by lighthearted delivery. It is the only way to address separate student college experiences. And it is the only way to view the issues present within technological disparities.
