I was a FGLI student at Duke 50 years ago. Not much has changed since

On Sept. 18, The Chronicle published an opinion column titled “Duke is actually good for low-income students” — a column written by an international student who mentions quite accurately that foreign students do not qualify for Pell Grants but may come from lower-income families.

However, beyond that, the columnist is unrealistic about the experiences of low-income and first-generation students at Duke, experiences that have remained unchanged since my own enrollment at Duke more than 50 years ago. The economic discrepancies at Duke are real and visible; the cliques and divisions are most often based on economic status. 

To come to Duke as a first-generation student is to come to a foreign country not knowing the language or customs and to struggle daily to understand. Sometimes it’s as simple as re-learning how to take notes and exams and to write papers. Other times it’s the hard task of making meal points last a whole term or affording books. Whether or not a first-generation, low-income student finally cracks the code matters much less than the universal realization that the gap exists and they will never quite get across: no new cars, designer labels, trips to wherever desired, Greek membership or being inside the inside. 

Promises of future equity don’t help ease this sting. Many years out most first-generation, low-income students do end up in a life with some advantages, but other changes are not as visible. The more they learn of the new life and the more they become the recipients of its gifts, the wider the gap grows with family. Those who are fortunate can still go home and be proud of their humble roots, but they will always see home with different eyes, and the visits will be short because the chance to advance lies outside those roots. The more arrogant pursue J.D. Vance’s path of turning his back on the very roots that enabled him to get his Yale degree and political power. 

Yes, Duke offers some good programs for its first-generation, low-income students, including some wonderful faculty and staff who remember their own college days and how they felt. They do indeed want things to be better for those who follow, and to encourage them to become the hands that will reach out in welcome to others in later years.  

But make no mistake. Free pizza and other things mentioned by the columnist don’t fill that gap. Economic division is the story of America. The one change in 50 years is that the gap is wider than ever before. Be very proud of those who come through and get the degree, but remember it was always hard, always different and Pell Grant numbers never tell that story.

Diane Weddington is an adjunct instructor at the Sanford School of Public Policy, a Duke alum (‘72 and ‘76), and a former FGLI student.