Support socioeconomic diversity

Duke’s Center for Child and Family Policy recently released a study finding that low-income teenage boys engaged in more anti-social and aggressive behaviors when coming from economically mixed neighborhoods. Though the study does not examine college-aged students, its core findings about the asymmetrical experiences influenced by socioeconomic backgrounds raise questions about the state of socioeconomic diversity at Duke and its effects on campus life.

We have previously discussed the central importance of socioeconomic diversity and have called on Duke to increase such diversity among the student body. Diversity of experiences and backgrounds provides invaluable perspectives inside and outside the classroom, fostering an environment that is both open and vibrant as students learn from one another. The University has a moral obligation to ensure that students of all backgrounds have the ability to access its education.

Yet, simply increasing the socioeconomic makeup of the student body will largely miss its goals if efforts are not made to also address the student experience once on campus. There remain a number of issues, both institutional and personal, that students face throughout their four-year tenure. On a personal level, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds may find it more challenging to take full advantage of Duke’s myriad offerings while also balancing multiple jobs to pay tuition or support their family. Such demands take time and energy away from studies and limit opportunities to take on leadership and extracurricular roles. A position within Duke Student Government, for example, involves a demanding schedule of meetings. Summer opportunities may also be limited. Though financial aid is offered for study abroad and summer sessions, and funding is offered through avenues such as the Career Center’s Internship Funding Program, students who must use that time to work may not have the luxury to puzzle together a DukeEngage-class-filled summer schedule like their peers.

On a broader level, the campus environment is not one that openly confronts differences in socioeconomic backgrounds. In a community where the median household income is significantly higher than the national average at $53,046 from 2009-13, presumptions about others’ family backgrounds are prevalent. For example, the ability to dine off campus or spend food points with the assumption that more can be added later creates a broader culture that often excludes students of lower-income backgrounds. Such an environment foments a general discomfort of discussing one’s socioeconomic status, which in turn reduces the issue’s visibility.

Combatting the status quo experience of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds at Duke requires a two-pronged approach. On one hand, the University should provide more institutional resources to students to both support them and raise awareness. The recent creation of a Director of Access and Outreach position and efforts to support low-income or first-generation students are positive steps in the right direction. However, we caution against cosmetic title changes that manifest in name only while resources remain limited. More must be done to make broader campus culture more welcoming for these students.

Yet, the onus is also on students to become more self-aware and create a more open campus environment. Initiatives such as Me Too Monologues and Common Ground provide positive avenues, yet themselves are not enough and can in fact perpetuate assumptions. We propose instead that these programs be accompanied by deeper, more intimate conversations surrounding socioeconomic diversity. These can be facilitated, for example, by Resident Assistants who have already have close connections with students in residence halls where communities are tight-knit and comfortable. We must strive to make Duke not only a socioeconomically diverse community in numbers, but also in culture.