A recently established Facebook page, Lehigh Class Confessions, invites students to anonymously share their experiences at Lehigh with respect to socioeconomic class identity through a Google form.
The page, created by Student Senate member Chang Sun, now has almost 350 likes and is growing in popularity among Lehigh students.
The idea for Lehigh Class Confessions emerged when Student Senate leaders met last year to discuss the next year’s goals, such as tackling different issues at Lehigh like LGBT inclusivity or women’s issues.
A personal goal, Sun wanted to bring more awareness about lower income students on Lehigh’s campus.
After her experience attending public school in a metropolitan city where everyone in the school came from different kinds of socioeconomic backgrounds, Sun said she wanted to bring more awareness the lower income groups that exist at Lehigh.
“When I moved to Lehigh, I didn’t see this kind of diversity here,” she said. “It seems like everyone comes from middle upper or upper class — the underprivileged students are either hidden, or nonexistent.”
Determined to find more information about income status among Lehigh’s student body, Sun met with the university’s department of institutional research and discovered that 10 percent of Lehigh students are first-generation students, meaning that their parents did not attend college.
In an attempt to bring more attention to these students, Sun spoke to a friend who attended a different private university.
Sun’s friend told her about school program which raises awareness for underprivileged students through a Facebook page. Inspired by the posts, Sun pitched her idea to the current Diversity and Inclusion Committee in Student Senate.
The idea was well received and the Facebook page was started shortly after that meeting.
“Within 24 hours of launching, we received over 200 likes from Lehigh student and faculties,” Sun said. “We have received confessions from ultra wealthy families, to families that are well below the poverty line.”
As the Facebook page continues to grow, it will be more capable of completing its mission, which is to raise awareness of class issues that exists but no one talks about; build a strong community and foster an open and respectful campus environment; engage a cross-class dialogue and empower the underprivileged students at Lehigh, according to Sun.
Other members of the Senate have been in full support of the page and have praised Sun for the idea.
“Creating the Lehigh Class Confessions page has been a great way to try and create a more inclusive community,” said Jacy Herman, ’17, a member of the Student Senate. “Hopefully students of all income levels become more open minded and understanding as a result of the page. We are so fortunate to have members like Chang to come up with such innovative ideas.”
Even members of the Student Senate who had hesitations about the page have acknowledged its benefits.
“I think it’s a good way for people to vent about how they feel, but I’m a little worried it may create some divide between students,” said Aaron Golden, ’17.
Sun hopes that as the page grows in popularity, more unique stories about socioeconomic class will allow Lehigh students to become more appreciative of the diversity within the university community that often goes unnoticed.
Visit the Lehigh Class Confessions page at www.facebook.com/LehighClassConfessions to read more Lehigh experiences with respect to socioeconomic class identity.
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