If there's one thing that I might wish for in support programming for first-generation students on campus, it would be clear and frank explanations for why their peers from more privileged backgrounds have it relatively easy.
Because without those open and caring conversations, cultural assumptions about "merit" fill the silences. As Tressie McMillan Cottom so succinctly explains, the powerful convey that they deserve a more privileged life because they are better than those without money. If someone is not already there, they should question their own worth even as they sacrifice so much to try to earn a more comfortable life.
McMillan Cottom's short but clear thoughts on power and merit are worth a listen:
And here's the link in case the embed doesn't work in the email version of this post.
