Getting bars with 1G at Duke

Duke’s 1G Network is a community of first generation college students, administrators, faculty and staff committed to improving the experiences of first generation college students on campus. The programming provided by the Network ranges from academic support to skills like financial literacy. The Network also runs a pre-orientation program each year dedicated to ease the transition to the world of college and, later in the year, discussion groups give times and places to discuss, especially in earlier years, the unique position of first generation college students on campus, a niche that we turn our attention to today.

First generation college students face a number of barriers before ever setting foot on campus. Although not all first generation students come from low-income backgrounds, statistically, most add low family income to the layers of identity and experience they bring to Duke. The financial burden on many first generation students leads to a resource gap that precludes academic tutors, educational trips or cultural experiences that other students may enjoy in their formative years.

And in terms of enrichments, the fine arts have a prominent place on Duke’s campus. Consequently, there is an expectation that students become some kind of cultured over time, per the needs of cocktail party conversation or later adult life. Although many cultural experiences on campus are free or low cost, the vocabulary and memories to engage and relish them come less easily to first generation students who may have had less exposure as children. This is not to say that first generation families are less cultured as a rule but that the high-brow, tweed suit appreciation for culture may not be a part of their enjoyment of cultural events.

But outside barriers to these experiences, and certainly more inconspicuous, is the knowledge gap these students face. Whether they express it or not, first generation college students have much less support from home in many nuanced avenues of university success. Parents without experience at college—or even parents whose university experiences were simpler or had fewer opportunities than a Duke undergraduate career—have much less how-to guidance to pass on to their children. This knowledge could be as small as anecdotal sharing of what living in college is like or as big as providing children with serious major or post-graduation plan advice. Navigating university life in social and academic spheres alike is therefore all the more difficult for first generation students, especially during freshman year, when they might not reach out to campus resources as they look to be regular, capable college students.

It is important to recognize the dissonance that first generation college students may feel and to normalize their experiences—not to adopt a paternalistic or concerned view of their experience but, rather, to ask and appreciate their fortitude in making this leap in their family history in spite of the hurdles. To that end, the 1G Network at Duke is on its way to becoming a space like student unions at Harvard and Yale, and the new Access and Outreach office indicates Duke’s progress in supporting our community. However, in order to continue making strides, normalizing the 1G experience is essential.