The Pragmatist

A wide array of students, along with several admissions counselors, administrators and faculty members gathered in the Hillcrest Orchard Room on Wednesday, Apr. 6 to discuss the issue of class on campus. It permeates many aspects of our lives, both in the classroom and in personal interactions. Yet for such a relevant issue, we seem to talk about it little.

In fact, we hardly seem to talk about the issue of class. With input from supportive administrators and professors, the Institutional Diversity Committee (IDC) planned an event to raise awareness of the socioeconomic diversity in the Middlebury community and provide a safe space to begin such a discussion.

The participants in the discussion spoke volumes about the interest and desire to address these issues on campus. Assistant Professor of Sociology/Anthropology Chong-Suk Han, Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of Religion James Calvin Davis, Associative Director of Alumni Relations Ian McCray, Student Services Director Jacqueline Davies and Dean of the College Shirley Collado joined student moderators Becky Harper ’11 and Hudson Cavanaugh ’14 on the panel.

Han said unlike other forms of diversity, such as race or gender that are commonly discussed in academic settings, society sees class as reflective of choice, instead of as an innate characteristic.

Purchasing books and studying abroad were two key examples that panelists and audience members cited as important issues that could better meet the needs of our socioeconomically diverse student body. Davies spoke of the lack of funding for Middlebury-approved programs, and several audience members questioned how students could pursue majors that required time abroad, if they could not afford to do so.

Panelists and audience members raised questions about “normalizing” the expectations of students. While we acknowledge the demands of a varsity sport on an athlete’s time, how should we or can we acknowledge the demands of a job on students’ time?

Class is hard to talk about, and it affects people across the socioeconomic spectrum. The panel spoke about students “passing,” concealing their class status. Some institutional programs may pose difficulties for financially challenged students, but one audience member spoke of the shame associated with coming from a privileged background.

Another individual, an international student, shared her experiences. She learned the connotations and subtexts of terms and places after visiting a friend in Manhattan.

In her concluding remarks, Collado reminded all of the privilege tied to being a College student. We must learn to be sensitive to socioeconomic diversity.

IDC has established a chapter of U/FUSED on campus. This is a network of groups interested in activism and socioeconomic diversity, and it works on college campuses across the U.S. Sam Koplinka-Lehr ’13 is heading the College chapter, and he is currently looking for students to help plan programming.

IDC and U/FUSED have organized several informal lunches for the last weeks of the semester to continue the discussion started at the panel. Look for an all-campus email in the coming weeks and if interested, email skoplinkaloehr@middlebury.edu for more information.