Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
A ring discussion was held for Class Awareness Month on Wednesday night. Javier Camacho, 2009, facilitated the discussion on “how race and class shape identity at Swarthmore.”
Panelists Linda Corchado ‘08, Nikki Kast ‘08, and Lauren Mendoza ‘10 first shared their diversity of views and experiences to provide a springboard for further discussion in a room full of people.
Corchado provided some anecdotal background. Her father, who immigrated to the U.S. through the bracero program, speaks little English. Yet as her sister was driving her to school one day and she said, “Faster, faster!” the older Corchado laughed.
At her prompting he then explained that while working in tomato fields as a bracero, someone kept telling the workers to go “faster, faster.” None of the workers understood what he said until a man came with a whip to punish one of the workers by example. Then all of them began to work faster, and then they understood.
“Not the whipping was something that bothered him so much,” Corchado said. “He said, you know, ‘we looked so similar… I could have been his brother, his cousin, his uncle.’”
As facilitator Camacho pushed the panel to address broader issues, issues regarding academics cropped up. The issue of “cultural capital” was widely discussed throughout the ring, as well as parental influence to pursue a major such as Economics, pre-med, or pre-law.
Mendoza, who came from a working-class family, summed this up: “I feel like there’s a lot of pressure, coming from my background, to do something with myself… I always feel like I’m trying to catch up because I haven’t grown up somewhere that prepares you for [Swarthmore’s academic experience.]”
Some students, like Rory Sykes ’08, voiced a few exceptions to a feeling of complete lack of cultural capital. Sykes grew up in a lower-class setting in Chicago, but felt that being able to “inherit an urban identity” as well as having access to city museums gave her a place as an art history major. [Editor’s Note: Sykes did make this point in the discussion, but her clarification in comments shows that her primary point was related to race. She feels that more than her urban identity, her white identity and white privilege helped her to overcome some of the barriers associated with being a working-class student.]
This contrasted with Corchado, who felt out of place in an art history class not having had art conversations with her parents, or having regularly read about it in the newspaper.
“Swarthmore, as we admit, is a very academically rigorous institution… I don’t see it as one person needs to trump another. However, I do feel like one needs to prove how one got to Swarthmore and how one got through the admissions process,” Camacho remarked briefly.
Many related stories about classes that made them feel uncomfortable in terms of class or cultural background, including an immigration policy class where people of color had valid points, but were viewed as “unskilled” for not having developed the academic vocabulary of social policy and whose points were often marginalized.
Charles Inniss, ’09, related that although he did feel very well-prepared for Swarthmore, he feels that since he is a black male people often assume otherwise, as did a music professor his freshman year.
“I took theory in high school, so I did have some preparation and did know what I was getting into. But I just didn’t do so well on the first assignment. The professor came up to me and asked me if I was dyslexic, if I had all these problems,” Inniss said.
Kast summarized that “race or ethnicity doesn’t necessarily coincide with this topic of cultural capital,” citing a previous point about wealthy international students who may find themselves lacking of any cultural capital, identifying with students of lower class in the U.S.
And though parental pressure may add some burden to a student, at least some are cognizant that class differences may make it difficult for their children to climb the social ladder.
One person brought up that her parents apologized all the time for not providing her the cultural capital she might need—not having brought her to fancy restaurants, which she might find herself at in a job or internship interview.
“I think that hits on a strong point for many people,” Camacho concluded. He asked for the discussions to continue on campus, addressing various issues of race and class.
The next CAM event, an Intra-Class Dialogue, will be held on Friday in Kohlberg from 4-6 p.m.
IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION:
Growing up in Chicago’s public schools and having access to the city’s various cultural institutions for free (including the Art Institute) because of their annual field trips is only PART of what I said contributed to my inheritance of dominant cultural capital despite my marginalized class background — in fact, I mentioned this explanation more as an afterthought than anything. The point I actually made (or meant to make, as I was less than articulate) was about RACE and how my white privilege served to mediate some of the potential barriers associated with being a first gen / working class student. I still experienced and continue to experience a lot of challenges in studying Art History that are very much tied to social class, but the simple fact that I even considered majoring in it as an option — as something that I might never do well in but that I could at least commit my college education to for three years — speaks loads about the educational advantages conferred by my white racial identity.