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> I think it's wrong to expect Harvard to provide a "safe space" for poor people. Is anyone asking for this? What a disingenuous comment. > Instead of being s

by thex10 10y ago

> I think it's wrong to expect Harvard to provide a "safe space" for poor people. Is anyone asking for this? What a disingenuous comment. > Instead of being self-conscious about what makes you different, embrace the differences and expand your world view. Sure. But that can be a risky endeavor. Embracing differences isn't all sunshine and roses. So what might practicing this mean in practice for the poor student. "Sure, I'll go socialize with you tonight and expand my world view!" Oh fuck, now I'm broke and can't pay for housing anymore. "Ok I'll party with you and do coke with you and expand my world view!" Wow we both bombed our finals, but my scholarship won't support me with this lower GPA, guess I won't see you in class next semester, bye.

zebrafish 10y ago
> Is anyone asking for this? What a disingenuous comment. I suppose I should have used a less politically charged term despite the nature of my intention. Maybe the quotation marks triggered your response. Safe space was simply a convenient term to describe: > the First Generation Student Union, pushing for a better understanding of challenges financially disadvantaged students face.
- nikdaheratik 10y ago
  I kind of see your point, but OTOH, retention is a huge issue throughout higher education. Some of this is due to the expansion of college compared to the 50s and 60s, but not all. State schools have something like this, though maybe by a different name. Scholarship athletes also have direct help in order to keep their grades up to snuff, but also because a large portion of them are also first generation college students. If you have 12% or more of your first year class dropping out because of preparedness, then the institution has a big problem regardless of whether it is a state school or an ivy league. And if a high portion of that group is lower income, that's a huge black eye for some of the wealthiest and most prestigious institutions in the world.

by thex10 10y ago

zebrafish 10y ago

> Is anyone asking for this? What a disingenuous comment. I suppose I should have used a less politically charged term despite the nature of my intention. Maybe the quotation marks triggered your response. Safe space was simply a convenient term to describe: > the First Generation Student Union, pushing for a better understanding of challenges financially disadvantaged students face.

nikdaheratik 10y ago
I kind of see your point, but OTOH, retention is a huge issue throughout higher education. Some of this is due to the expansion of college compared to the 50s and 60s, but not all. State schools have something like this, though maybe by a different name. Scholarship athletes also have direct help in order to keep their grades up to snuff, but also because a large portion of them are also first generation college students. If you have 12% or more of your first year class dropping out because of preparedness, then the institution has a big problem regardless of whether it is a state school or an ivy league. And if a high portion of that group is lower income, that's a huge black eye for some of the wealthiest and most prestigious institutions in the world.