100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Download this Issue

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

This collection, digitized in collaboration with the Michigan Daily and the Board for Student Publications, contains materials that are protected by copyright law. Access to these materials is provided for non-profit educational and research purposes. If you use an item from this collection, it is your responsibility to consider the work's copyright status and obtain any required permission.

September 15, 2014 - Image 4

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 2014-09-15

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

Page 4A - Monday, September 15, 2014

;F t i l

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

_

R~t idhigan 4aly
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
MEGAN MCDONALD
PETER SHAHIN and DANIEL WANG KATIE BURKE
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe Daily's editorial board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
ERICA WATSON | VI WPOINT
Let's talk about money

The oppression ofpoverty, part 2

As I sit here as a super senior at the Uni-
versity, I reflect on the statistic that says only
4 percent of the incoming class of freshmen
will be considered low socioeconomic status.
Socioeconomic status is defined by income,
household size and other contributing vari-
ables. Low SES is defined as having a parent
who makes less than $50,000 a year and who
has less than a bachelors degree. For those
of you who are harder hit by actual numbers
than percentages, this means about 256 of the
estimated 6,251 incoming students.
I wonder if these students know what they
are actually signing up for?
As someone who comes from a single-
father household, who on a good year makes
between $25-30,000 a year and was lucky to
get his high school degree despite his severe
dyslexia and a mom who dropped out of high
school at the age of 16, Ilam no stranger to what
it means to be "working class" or "low SES,"
or on days where I'm particularly frustrated
"dirt poor." According to public record here
at the University, less than 1 percent of all
students here come from the same financial
and educational background that I do.
Because of this, college has been a completely
different experience for me than it has for
many of my peers. For many, coming here was
the first time they ever had to deal with things
on their own. For me, I hadbeen working since
I was old enough to do so and helping to pay
rent since I was 16 years old. For me, college
was freeing because it meant I had less to take
care of, not more.
Once I got here, I quickly realized I was
different. During my first few years here, I had
a hard time making friends. Besides having a
hard time finding people who were like me that
I could connect with, my options for friends
were limited in ways that other students didn't
seem to face. I couldn't even fathom joining
Greek life because the dues, not to mention the
clothes required, were way out of my budget.
Instead I worked to help pay for college, which
left less time to join extracurriculars, which
for many is where they find their close friends.
Even the ones that I had considered joining
were way out of my budget. Joining Ski Club or
Alternative Spring Break was never an option
for me.
Even with the friends I did make, I was hard-
pressed to keep up. I couldn't afford eating
out or going to concerts or other things that
people often did. This left me with the choice
of either lying to cover up the fact that I didn't
have money or being a killjoy who made others
change their plansbecause of me.
As time went on, I saw more and more how
little people had to think about money, and it
made it hard for me to connect. When people
found out that I was here on practically a full
scholarship, they would often bemoan how
they weren't "given the same opportunity."
And tell me "how lucky I was." They clearly
never stopped to think about what situation I
was coming fromto get such support.
Over my four years of college, I have worked
anywhere from two to four jobs at a time,
everything from nannyingto catering, to psych
studies and theater jobs, some weeks working
more than full time while still going to 15-17
credits of classes. I have loaned money to both
of my parents to buy cars when theirs broke
down and helped both my parents pay bills and
rent so they weren't evicted or went without
heat or water. I have helped provide my little
sister with school clothes, winter coats and the
ability to have a cell phone, and lent my older
sister money to pay her bills. The list goes on
and on, and the tally is in the thousands.
It can be incredibly hard to focus on school
when you're worried about whether or not your
family will have a place to live next month or
if your siblings are getting what they need. It's
even harder when you have to miss class to

help take care of family crises that frequently
pop up. I don't want my professors to pity me
or treat me differently, so I often don't tell
them the truth. However, there are only so
many excuses you can come up with that sound
feasible in a semester.
As a theater student, I am constantly
reminded that I am behind. I have never seen
a Broadway show, never been to New York
and was never taken to plays as a kid. I have
nothing to contribute when these things come
up in class and never know how to tell people
this in the theater school without having them
look at me like I have a third arm sprouting
from my forehead..
Making space for me to be myself has been
incredibly hard on this campus. Money is
something we aren't supposed to talk about,
and since most people here have lot of it, it's
not even something they have to think about.
Because SES is often invisible, people assume
that simply because I have a nice backpack, an
iPhone - and most likely especially due to my
white skin - that I don't struggle with money.
We're all in college; we've all "made it," so
everything is great, right?
College for me was always something I felt
guilt and pressure for. My degree will never,
never just be for me. It's for everyone in my
family, who never got the opportunity or will
need help with the money that I will earn
with my degree and for my little sister, who
hopefully one day won't have to navigate the
confusing maze of financial aid, taxes and
logistics alone like I did. It's something that is
so new and scary as a first generation student
with no one to turn to for help.
As I reflect back on my struggles with
money here on this campus, I can't help
but worry about those students who are
coming in, not knowing what they are
getting themselves into. We are all, told
that Michigan will be "diverse." You'll meet
people from all walks of life, and for a while,
I truly believed that. While we may be here,
because there are so few of us, it can be hard
to find a community you belong to; a group
of people who understand you when you tell
them you're broke, because you not only paid
your own rent but your family's too. Finding
people who won't pity you, who won't ask
stupid questions and tell you how much
luckier you are than them to have a full ride
(not that this isn't an incredible gift that I am
thankful for every day).
To those incoming students who are
already here and struggling, I have only this
to offer: Being here will be hard. You will deal
with things that others can't even imagine:
Stresses, rage-filled tears, fear and panic that
others won't understand. As hard as it is to
believe, remember that you are not alone. You
will have to seek out people who are like you.
The more I started being honest and telling
people my story, the more I was able to find
others like me. Especially with something
like SES, you really have to commit to
searching, because it's not always visible
or easily guessed. Yes, this meant sharing
my stories and truths that sometimes made
people uncomfortable and sometimes made
them treat me differently, but it eventually
led to finding some of the best and closest
friends I've ever had, who really truly get it.
It's with the help of these friends that I have
made it through these four years here. They
have helped me cope, helped me find humor in
the insanity and stress and have made it possi-
ble to receive this degree and even go on to grad
school, where things will likely only get harder.
For those of you who haven't found this support
yet, please, please keep looking. If we don't sup-
port each other, who will?
Erica Watson is a School of Music,
Theatre & Dance senior.

t was fourth grade when my
mom sat me on our living room
couch to talk. I set my feet on
the edge of our
dilapidated cof-
fee table as she
said that we
couldn't pay our
"house bill" this
month. I saw the
fear in her eyes
and I immedi- MICHAEL
ately felt a surge SCHRAMM
of anxiety racing
through my stom-
ach. I was confused, and my anxiety
sparked a nervousness that caused
the room to spin.
"What's going to happen to us?"
I asked, as she proceeded to define a
mortgage and what "being late" on
a payment meant. The lump in my
stomach grew, and I started crying. I
felt terrified that our family's simple
home would be taken away. The
remainder of the night was spent
watching TV As I tried to escape into
the worlds in front of me, the lump in
my stomach was a constant reminder
that things were bad.
The next day at school I felt the
lump asI tried to live like nothing was
wrong, but no matter how hardI tried
I could always sense the fear coursing
through my body. I had no one to talk
to, I didn't know how to seek help.
Though I was so young, I could clearly
feel my social withdrawal from my
peers asIdrifted into my mind's fear.
I wish that my fourth grade
experience was an isolated incident,
but the financial problems only
worsened. As I got older, I became a
sponge, absorbing the stress coming
from the relentless bills pouring
into our home. My body was in a
constant hurricane season, and
consequentially I was always on alert
for the next crippling whirlwind to
twist me into knots.
Luckily, as I got older, I began
channeling my fear into a source
to improve my academic and social
lives - things that I could control.
Unfortunately, many children
suffering from parents' financial
strain never find ways to cope with
their anxiety. Instead, the stress
manifests itself in mood-altering

and antisocial behaviors. helps you visualize opportunities
Impoverished children and outside of your own circumstances.
teenagers are more likely to suffer Furthermore, it's imperative that
from depression. This could have these children have emotional
multiple explanations. Similar to my support for their constant stress.
experience, it could be a product of Now, let's make one thing clear:
continuous, incomingstress. It could I'm not trying to criticize parents as
also come from children's parents, the cause of impoverished children's
who are more likely to be depressed stress. These parents are trying
when suffering financially. The their hardest - oftentimes working
depression of a parent can often extra hours to support their families.
spur depression in a child, causing They're also more likely to suffer
an unhealthy cycle. from depression, and since only 6.2
The combination of financial percent of married-couple families
stress and depression can have seri- live in poverty, there's a good chance
ous consequences in children.A child the parent is trying to raise a child
who experiences common symptoms primarily on their own.
of depression including pessimism, We must recognize these
guilt and helplessness could really hindrances and stressors in the
struggle to overcome these issues lives of children who grow up in
given the seemingly endless parental low socioeconomic status homes.
struggle to pay bills. Other common We need to train teachers to
depression symptoms include diffi- identify children with behavior
culty concentrating and remember- indicating that they're suffering. I'm
ing details. Plus, a child chronically highlighting teachers since children
stressed by financial difficulties has spend so much time with them. If I
reduced cognition and memory and could have talked about my problems
impaired attention. These problems with another adult, I'm rather
would make it difficult for a child to certain that I could have developed
succeed in school, and given the link coping mechanisms and ways to
between education and income, a relieve stressyears earlier than I did.
financially burdened child's depres- But teachers aren't the only people
sion and stress who need to
could prolong help. As the
financial stress famous saying
into adulthood. Ibecame a sponge, goes, "It takes a
Alongside absorbing the stress village to raise
depression, chil- a child." As a
dren in finan- Coming from the society we must
cially burdened . be more attuned
households are relentless bills pouring to recognizing
also more likely into our home a child who
to exhibit anti- demonstrates
social behavior, signs of
which includes struggling, and
"bullying, being cruel, breaking we must be willing to lend a listening
things, cheating or telling lies." ear and an empathetic heart. These
Once children begin develop- lessons must also be ingrained in
ing this behavior, they struggle to our youth. I can vouch that an act as
break these habits in lieu of healthy simple as listening to a friend's pain
socializing skills. can provide more relief than the
These antisocial behaviors can listener can comprehend.
hinder a child's ability to develop We must make impoverished
strong peer networks, something children feel more supported. We
they desperately need. From cannot allow them to slip through
personal experience, it's hard the cracks.
to visualize breaking the cycles
and stresses of poverty without -Michael Schramm can be
a positive support system that reached at mschramm@umich.edu.

A difference for one

4

Through the Residential Col-
lege at the University, I
was given the opportunity
to work with

Latin@ students
at the nearby
Huron High
School this past
semester. When
Teresa Sanchez-
Snell, the Span-
ish Language
Internship Pro-
gram director,
sat down with
me, she said I

OMA"
MAHMOOD

should take on the most challenging
role. I would work with high school
students, helping them learn mate-
rial they were struggling with.
The first day I walked in, the
relieved English as a Second Lan-
guage teacher assigned me to more
than 10 Spanish-speaking students
who wereontheverge offailingtheir
classes. "Thank God you're here,"
said Mrs. Smith, introducing me to
her charges as they ate lunch. "These
are the worststudents in the school,"
she told me in a grandmotherly voice,
even as the whole class was privy to
her criticisms. The students looked
to me with innocent fascination, the
girls giggling as they first glanced at
me andthen away, the boys giving me
sidelong glances of disdain.
Mrs. Smith told me there was a
"desperate need" for translators, and
to help as many students as I could.
I ruffled through the schedules she
had given me. There was Oscar,
who was failing algebra. There was
Natalia, who was failing biology.
There was Mario, who was failing
history. There was David, who was
failing geography. Overwhelmed
as I was, I marched over to Oscar's
algebra class. I waited for some time
before understanding he had no
intention of showing up. So I turned
the page to the next schedule and
moved on to the next student. It was
the routine I would learn over the
next many weeks, as I understood,
to my grief, that many of these kids
simply didn't go to class.
It was then that I turned the page
to Pablo. The first class I had with
him was algebra with Mrs. Brown.
She was teaching operations with
exponentsthatFriday.AsIwalkedin,
an excited kid - whom I presumed
to be Pablo - turned around and
walked up to me. He pulled up a

chair next to me and sat down with
notebook and pencil in hand, almost
as if showing his new friend off to
the class.
I tepidly began to ask him how
he was doing, in English, explaining
that Mrs. Brown had said he direly
needed help. He had an innocent
aura about him, an innocent voice,
though not devoid of tomfoolery.
He was on the shorter side and
skinny. He kept his hair simple,
though I would find it one Friday
dyed pink down the middle for a fun
stunt. He answered my questions
earnestly. I was reluctant at first to
speak Spanish, because I thought it
would put Pablo off. I had feared the
kids wouldn't want to expose any
incompetency in English in front of
their classmates. Yet as I proceeded
to ease a couple words of Spanish into
our conversation, his eyes lit up.
"Hablas espanol?"
I smiled. "Porsupuestotlo hablo."
I didn't want to be imposing, so
I then explained to Pablo that he
would be my Spanish teacher for the
coming months, and I would help
him with his
schoolwork. It
was an alliance Still, it -WO
that never tired.
Pablo became a rich of me
little brother to
me, as much as have saves
one can become much as I t
a little brother
over weekly he taught
sessions. I found
that Pablo, far
from shying
away from Spanish, preferred his
language. Pablo was as dedicated
a student as I could find in that
classroom, language "barrier"
be damned. Teaching him was
rewarding not in the least for the
Spanish immersion we shared. I was
able to teach algebra in total Spanish
to a kid who was genuinelycurious.
One day I would teach him to factor
perfect-square trinomials, and
another day to classify polynomials.
He confided in me that he didn't
understand things until I explained
them to him. Once I explained them,
thingsbecame easy. By the end of our
term together, Pablo had progressed
so well that Mrs. Schneider called his
father and congratulated him.
Still, it would be a bit rich of me to
claim to have saved Pablo. As much
as I taught him, he taught me more.

We in Ann Arbor are always looking
to volunteer, but a volunteerism
is a slippery slope to elitism. Our
yearning to help others takes us to far
corners of the world, and sometimes
to new Facebook profile pictures.
And still sometimes we change in
more ways than that. We must train
ourselves to become aware of our
privilege, painfully aware of it. I
could not help but wonder where any
of those ESL kids might have been
had they been raised the way I had,
given such an extravagant education
that it would be painful to share it
here. I come away feeling guilty for
having so much and for daring to
think that I am paying my dues, and
in no other moment does a life of
poverty seem as appealing.
A person's heart can also become
heavy upon realizing that one's efforts
are but a drop in the ocean. I was
overwhelmed at Huron. The kids
there confided in me about drugs,
skipping school and about how their
teacherswere "racists." They were far
gone, and as much as I sought to help
them, they came to associate me with
the same teach-
ers they hated.
uld be a bit I could not help
them all, and by
to claim to the end, I had
decided to take
d Pablo. As Pablo under my
:aught him, wing and do my
me more. I'm reminded
of a favorite
poster of mine
that hung in the
principal's office of my Montessori
school. Underneath a picture of
stormy skies and waves of gray
crashing upon an endless beach was
an anecdote that I remember fondly.
A lone little boy was walking along
a beach, picking up starfish that had
washed ashore and throwing them
back into the oceanbefore they dried
up. A man walked up to the boy
and told him that his work made no
difference. There were thousands
of dying starfish, and he would only
ever reach a fraction. The boy picked
up another starfish and turned to the
man as he was throwing it back into
the water.
"True," he said, "but it makes all
the difference for this one."
-Omar Mahmood can be
reached at syedom@umich.edu.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Barry Belmont, David Harris, Rachel John, Nivedita Karki,
Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald;
Victoria Noble, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm,
Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Allison Raeck, Linh Vu,
Meher Walia, Mary Kate Winn, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION
Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints.
Letters should be fewer than 300 words while viewpoints
should be 550-850 words. Send the writer's full name and
University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan