College Amplifies Advantages & Disadvantages
Here’s some bad news for all of us who strive to get more working-class first-generation students into and through college: college is not an effective... Read More
Class, Race and the Trump Administration
A May 2018 report by Philip G. Alston, a U.N. special rapporteur, examines poverty in the United States. The report findings were based on 40... Read More
Thank You for Being on Time
A few months ago, I made an appointment at the low-income clinic to see their therapist. I was hoping to find someone to listen to... Read More
Happy Day Before Payday!
While summer 2018 has been a scorcher, the high for February 1st and 2nd made it to 11º in Kari Fisher’s hometown in Minnesota, and single... Read More
Poverty Constrains Your Wardrobe – and You
I will always remember December 2013. It was a particularly cold winter, and downtown Los Gatos was in the low 30s. My friend Jane rented... Read More
B1GS: First Gen College Students
I am a sophomore at Rutgers University-Camden, studying psychology with a minor in childhood studies and social work. I am also – with great pride... Read More
Is Elvis-Hating Classist?
So much depends on whether you are looking up at Elvis from the working poor or working-class or down at him from the middle- and... Read More
Vulnerability Is Courage: A First Gen Student Journey
Feeling Vulnerable as a First Gen As a first generation student, I felt vulnerable, and I didn’t want anyone to know it. So I didn’t... Read More
Assimilation and the First Generation College Student
Going to college as a first generation student of color is more than just getting the money and applying for the right scholarships. It’s also... Read More
Five Classist Pitfalls to #Resist in Your Activism
In a moment of potentially revolutionary activism and mobilization, don’t let classism undermine your efforts. The past few weeks have been both terrifying and inspiring.... Read More
Systematic Failure: A Recipe for Self-Doubt
What does it mean when our education system, “The Great Equalizer,” turns low-income dreamers into third-generation self-doubters? When a high-quality education system is built only... Read More
Finding My Place in Academia as a First-Gen
As the first in my family to attend college and to go on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I have definitely struggled to find... Read More
When are you no longer a first generation college student?
Why was I feeling inadequate, angry, and torn between family and academia, just like first-generation college students feel? I was a graduate student with a... Read More
Toothpaste, Katrina and My Recovery from Classism
During my second week living in Boston, I faced one of those frightening moments of choosing whether or not to come out in front of... Read More
Thinking Positive Thoughts as the Ship Sinks: Oprah, Tolle & New Age Classism
I’m concerned about classism in the new age, self help and spiritual movements. Oprah Winfrey’s show and “lifeclass,” which many people study religiously, promote individualistic “create... Read More
Need vs. Greed: Greed Wins
I’ve been interviewing people and carrying out research lately on housing affordability in San Jose, and what I’ve found has been both heartbreaking and enraging.... Read More