I didn’t know how poor I was until I got to college—or perhaps I didn’t know how well off others were until I got to college. In college I wanted to try everything— rugby, fraternity, various clubs—if it stoked my interest I wanted to try it. The only caveat was that it cost a lot to participate in these things and my parents didn’t have much money for my books let alone for clubs. The dues for the rugby team was $400 every year, plus another $800 - $1000 when the team goes on tour. In my fraternity we had to pay $350 per trimester, plus $200- $300 for special events. Perhaps I was a bit naïve to think that other students were paying for these expenses for themselves—later to find out that for most of my friends, their parents gave them $2000 - $3000 for expenses each trimester. For my parents, $3000 was 3 month’s rent. But I wasn’t going to allow money to get in my way or perhaps I didn’t want to look as phony, someone who didn’t belong. So I worked two jobs, working 16-20 hours a week while also playing rugby, with rugby acting as a part time job itself. Playing rugby was how I met Taylor, a white kid from Minnesota who was also going through the same financial situation I was going through. We both worked so we can both play.

I hadn’t met a poor white person until I met Taylor. I thought they didn’t exist—like a unicorn. To be white meant to be well-off. With Taylor, I learned not to judge a book by the cover, as cliché as it may sound. Dartmouth, like in many schools, seemed to address diversity and inequality by looking at something visible like race, as well they should. With Taylor, however, I realize that while racial diversity is good, income diversity is rather perhaps more serious. I felt closer to poor white kid than I did to a well-off black kid. Our shared experience of having to work through school so we can participate brought us closer together than race.

The administration at Dartmouth often advertises the “The Dartmouth Experience,” which to them is students “participating in organizations and teams… [and] inevitably learning from one another—especially from differences in one another’s background and perspective.” What is implied in “differences in one another’s background and perspective” is racial diversity. Indeed, Taylor and I learned quite a bit from each other. But, I can’t say the same for most students who are not well-off and who worked more hours than Taylor and I did, barely having the time do anything more other than work and school. Nor can I say the same for most students who were well-off, who barely interacted with someone not from the same socio-economic class, be that person white or black. Income invariable plays an insidious sinister role. It’s a damn shame.