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Report: High-performing but low-income students left out

College money

Jane Thomas’s daughter studies at Emory University where annual tuition nears $50,000.

Thomas identifies her income as “comfortable” but said this week her daughter will pay her own college debts.

“Whatever she didn’t pay off, she’ll have to work off, because we want her to have some responsibility,” Thomas said.

Thomas is one of millions of Americans facing rising tuition costs, especially at elite, private, and Ivy League universities. That means many low-income Americans are being forced out of an elite higher-education system that they can’t afford.

A study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that “the vast majority of very high-achieving students who are low-income do not apply to any selective college or university.”

According to the study, this trend occurs when high-achieving students search for colleges in the range of their income, rather than of their achievement.

But, colleges have been trying to incorporate students from all backgrounds and economic statuses.

In 2004, the eight Ivy League universities underwent a financial makeover when schools such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale decided to provide free tuition to those families that made under $60,000 a year.

College money
Photo illustration: TaxCredits.net

But still, at five of the eight Ivy League’s there are more students from the top 1 percent of income ($630K+), than the bottom 60 percent (<$65K).

It seems that America might be one of the only countries putting students into crippling debt. Jane McTaggart from Brisbane, Australia recalled that when she went to college it was free.

Although annual tuition in Australia is now $20,000, students “don’t have to pay back their debts until they make a certain income,” McTaggart stated.

McTaggart also stated, “I find it quite disturbing that you have so much debt for young people.”

College costs in America are increasing as the average tuition for a private institution has racked up to $35,074 for four year schools.

These costs aren’t encouraging low-income students to choose elite universities and are another reason for less low-income, high-achieving students attending college.

Although Jane Thomas is able to pay for her daughter’s tuition at Emory University, she is still skeptical of the efforts being made by colleges to provide financial aid for low-income students.

She stated, “I don’t think they’re doing enough.”

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Mixed views on gender neutral bathrooms as city asks for help #safebathroomsdc

WASHINGTON, D.C.–District of Columbia residents hold mixed feelings about gender neutral bathrooms, which are appearing with greater frequency throughout the city as officials with the Office of Human Rights track compliance.

Gender inclusive bathrooms have been an issue prevalent in the district, where laws require facilities with public restrooms to make all stalls gender neutral.

But, despite a backlash in North Carolina last year over its restrictive laws, some here still say they feel their safety could be jeopardized.

“I wouldn’t be certain whether there are other people I might not be comfortable with inside these bathrooms with my girls,” said Bryan Pascual, 49, a father of three, who said his daughters use public restrooms without him. 

Pascual also fears that if these bathrooms are installed in schools different sexes would have access to the same bathrooms where there are no security cameras or teacher supervision.

Nationwide, older Americans and those who are more religious believe people

A gender inclusive bathroom on the American University campus. By Dina Sapiro

should use bathrooms that correspond to the gender they were born to.

The idea of separate facilities for just men and women has been deeply rooted in the ideals of the public, damaging those in our society that identify as transgender and gender nonconforming, according to an expert in the field. 

Research by Jody L. Herman from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law showed that people in the district identifying as LGBT are more likely to experience discrimination. More than two thirds of respondents in her study reported experiencing at least one instance of verbal harassment in gender-segregated bathrooms. Some faced violence.

Knowing what transgender people face, the district Office of Human Rights is taking on the issue.

“Public bathrooms are never enjoyable, but for transgender people and many others, using a public bathroom can be a highly stressful and even dangerous experience,” the Office’s website reads.

It’s asking for the public’s help identifying bathrooms in the city that aren’t compliant with its policy. Using #safebathroomsdc, people can tell the office about restrooms that are still gender-specific.

#safebathroomsdc twitter page By Dina Sapiro

20 year old American University student Michael Mannello supports gender neutral bathrooms and has noticed that people in the district are not aware enough that gender is ambiguous for some people. 

Mannello comes from a conservative background and does understand the reservations some might hold on the issue, but to Mannello it’s just a bathroom and “at the end of the day, if I got to pee, I got to pee.”