This August marked the grand opening of UConn’s newest living and dining space, Connecticut Hall. Primarily home to returning students, Connecticut Hall is home to the Nursing Learning Community, Wellness Community and most notably the upper-division honors students, who already have a presence in the convenient and spacious Snow Hall and Shippee Hall.
Connecticut Hall boasts a state-of-the-art dining hall, group study areas and multiple meeting areas to create a sense of community within the building. It also has a unique layout with many rooms offering two bedrooms and two bathrooms, as well as traditional doubles and singles with a bathroom.
The addition of Connecticut Hall to the list of honors housing options contributes further to a host of resources that come with the honors distinction including spacious and convenient housing, specialized career programs, smaller class sizes, scholarships and additional academic and community programs. These resources are meant to help honors students realize their full potential at UConn through research, entrepreneurship and guidance from faculty and mentors. Many of these resources are only accessible to honors students, who make up just under 13% of the total UConn undergraduate population. Meanwhile, first-generation students and other less privileged groups lack the same resources. The Daily Campus Editorial Board asks: Is this distribution equitable?
Despite UConn’s statement that they are “dedicated to supporting and serving anyone who identifies as First Generation”, First-gen students are offered few resources that are unique from any other student even though they historically have struggled more in college. 1 in 4 students at UConn are first-generation students, yet they lack a specific housing community and the plethora of exclusive benefits that honors students have access to such as the rigorous, small and engaging courses offered every semester.
One would expect that UConn would aim to use resources to lift up first generation and less privileged students who might require more support and engagement to reach their full potential, but UConn is failing to address the needs of these students. Instead, the university is focusing on providing more resources and benefits to groups of around 2,300 students who have been given the Honors distinction.
UConn’s resources should not only be allocated to groups like honors students and first-generation students based off their size, but also according to their need. First-generation and less privileged students deserve the same opportunity to take rigorous and unique coursework as well as benefit from career specific programs that can help them apply their university education upon graduation. Data from the Pew Research Center shows first-generation college students are more likely to come from low-income households and need the individualized support as they come from working-class families and communities who have limited college experience. Oftentimes, they may have to work alongside their studies to afford their college education and face other burdens that can harm their grades and interrupt the search for job and internship opportunities. Fewer first-generation students hold formal leadership roles, conduct research, complete paid internships and study abroad than other students, according to the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Increasing the breadth and depth of academic opportunities for these students may empower them to further involve themselves in research and pursue their academic passions.
First generation and less privileged students also deserve the same sense of community that honors living and honors specific classes provide for those students. Making the transition to college is challenging for every student but for first generation students, it can be more daunting when your family may be unfamiliar with it. Having a living community of students who are going through the same challenges would create an opportunity for these students to support each other and work together for a smoother transition.
The Editorial Board calls upon UConn to hold true to its promises and support first-generation and less-privileged students by redistributing the resources given to the Honors Program in a more equitable manner. It is imperative that these students are given the same opportunity to excel in their studies and future careers upon graduation.