Thoughts on being Working Class at University
Of course, race can create far worse issues than the ones I have experienced, as institutional racism is still evident, and I still look like the typical university student if judged solely on appearance. In Copenhagen, some students expressed shock that I wasn't receiving financial help from my mum (who did occasionally send me biscuits and tea bags in the post) and claimed they did not know of anyone else who was funding their year abroad solely through their grants/loans and part-time work back home. I'm proud that I was able to save money and send myself off to Denmark for a year, but many other students won't have the same opportunities (especially with the possible end of the Erasmus funding, which was vital for me).
I think that the main issue for me is the class divide. I've struggled to articulate how my working-class background has impacted my years at university. But my different background and lack of cultural capital were apparent from the start, only 5% of students come from white working-class backgrounds, and this statistic worsens as the level of higher education increases. Many deprived students opt to go to the "less prestigious" universities, even if they have good grades because they feel like they won't belong elsewhere. Coming from schools where you're near the top of the class to university seminars where you feel like the dumbest person in the room is staggering, but was a reality for me (and I'm sure many other working-class students). I was never really taught how to debate in school, so never really mastered the skill of talking about something I was uncertain about with authority, or how to expertly confront the opposing argument verbally.
Most of the students seemed to be from the wealthy areas in and around London or the Home Counties, whereas I grew up on a neglected council estate where fire engines and police cars were regularly stoned. We grew up poor, but I didn't realise this until discussing my childhood with my peers. Others had it far worse than we did, but I can't ignore the fact that I spent years sharing a bedroom with my mum and sister in my grandparents' two-bedroom house. And while students complain about their student houses being cold, the coldness just reminds me of home, which isn't any warmer. In secondary school, all of my predicted grades were based on my parents' education and our postcode, so I was put in classes in which the average grade was sometimes 2/3 grades below what I was aiming for. Luckily, I didn't let the low expectations stop me, but studies show that many students are affected by the views of their teachers and children from disadvantaged backgrounds are eighteen months behind their peers when they take their GCSEs.
Luckily I managed to meet people and befriend others who were not from the typical university background. I had my own bubble where I was not an outcast for having an atypical upbringing. But, as I already mentioned, the pool of students from this background was only 1/4 the size of the number of middle-class students. So, sometimes even socialising became a chore.
Coronavirus seems to have exacerbated the divide. I had to choose between living alone in Leeds or moving back home. I chose to move back to my grandparents (because I don't have a room at my mum's house anymore due to the lack of space). We've managed to decorate my room, but I still lack adequate space for university work. We have repurposed the dining room, but it can be loud, and I often get interrupted by my grandparents, so concentrating on my essays or reading has been hard. I hope I've done well in my exams but I COVID-19 has definitely impacted my ability to work, as it has for the majority of students, and I worry about the consequences of the virus.
Normal People summarised my feelings perfectly when Connell described how he didn't fit in at home or at university, and how some people get away without doing the reading because they have enough confidence in themselves to believe that everything they say is groundbreaking. Don't get me wrong, I do well in my classes, but I often feel like I'm talking utter nonsense in my seminars because I don't have the same cultural/literal capital as my peers so no matter how much work I do, I constantly feel inferior in some way. My accent doesn't help. I never thought I would have to adapt my accent in Leeds, a city that is only 20 miles from home. I expected the majority of students I met to have similar accents but I feel like that was not the case. My accent has been the butt of jokes, and I have even seen some people complain about the northern accent. I can barely name any northern news reporters or television hosts that aren't a joke. The Yorkshire accent (like many other accents) are ridiculed, only heard on tv shows depicting working-class communities or benefits scroungers.
There's honestly no point to this post. Complaining about my accent and background won't get anyone anywhere. I don't want to seem like I'm ungrateful for being able to go to Leeds, as I have still loved my time at the university. But I think the elitism of university, especially for the Russel Group, needs to be discussed in much greater detail than it currently is. Leeds have a 'working-class awareness week' and are looking to ban the offensive, classist varsity chants, but more needs to be done. Most students are blissfully unaware of the struggles working-class students experience, through no fault of their own. So, unless more people decide to open up about their own struggles, whatever there may be, nothing will be done to change the current situation that thousands of students face.
