POVERTY & CLASS
Are Class Divides Prominent at University? When sitting in lectures or seminars with your peers, or seeing
where. Again, as overheard in a lecture, one student bragged about
others walk about campus, class doesn’t particularly stand out.
their holiday to the Caribbean Islands, quickly adding that it was
Perhaps if you were to attend a more explicitly liberal uni, like
‘very, very expensive’. Many will spend their summers volunteering
say Bristol, or one that’s predominantly for those who are wealthy,
abroad (which typically costs over £1000), and their winters on
like Oxford or Warwick, then class may stand out more. But
the annual family skiing holiday, whilst those of lower class and
Southampton University doesn’t particularly scream rich or poor,
wealth will spend most of their breaks working. Though this is not
as everyone here tends to dress either ‘indie’, sporty, preppy or
the fault of students whose families have such disposable incomes,
bland; none of these choices making clear their class.
it is an easy way to spot the difference between those who are only a ‘poor uni student’ and those who are genuinely from a poor
However, though there may not be an explicit divide through
socio-economic background.
appearance, conversations do make clear which tax brackets peoples’ families belong to. For instance, one student exclaimed
Finally, an instant indicator of class at uni is how someone got
around election time that Labour couldn’t win as their family
in to university. For instance, those from poorer areas may have
would be ‘too heavily taxed’. Another complaining that their fairly
been offered the lowest 5% acceptance, whereby grades are
new Ford Focus was a gift from their parents, who forced them
dropped from AAB to BBB or similar, whilst those from richer
to decide between getting either a new car, or a second ‘pony’ -
backgrounds were required to meet the AAB offer, but somehow
they still seemed torn up that they were only allowed one. These
still got in with only BBC. Obviously intake is impacted by the
comments certainly make clear that said individuals’ are from
number of applicants, with the university accepting lower grades
wealthy backgrounds, but this only become explicit once they
if less people have applied, but even so, someone receiving
spoke rather than it being instantly observable.
remarkably lower grades than needed, and still being accepted, probably had some family clout or financial sway.
A major way in which class can be established at uni is if someone is able to play a sport, particularly if they partake in multiple sport
Overall, class is not immediately noticeable at uni, or not
societies. Though this may sound a little far-fetched, when you
at University of Southampton at least. However, through
consider the cost of a sport and wellbeing pass, joining fees for
conversations, how students spend their uni breaks, whether
the sport itself, uniform, match/travel expenses, the cost of weekly
they’re part of a sport, and how they got accepted into uni,
socials, and so on, the initial costs add up to roughly £200-300
divisions of wealth crop up and become evident the more people
for most sport societies. Of course, there are cheaper ones to join,
you meet.
or more casual sports that you pay a small weekly fee for, but in terms of sports that would compete in Varsity, prices are extremely high. For students whose families can lend them money, or have a large disposable income, joining a sport is no issue. But for those who struggle with battling their overdraft each month to try to pay rent, joining a sport would force them to choose between eating and paying bills that month or becoming part of a sports team. Another massive sign of wealth at university is how each student spends their Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays, or rather
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WORDS BY MADDIE LOCK IMAGES BY TILLY ROBERTS POVERTY
