The Poor Was Not Meant To Succeed!

photo's by Tundae

by Melanie Shaw Today it is almost impossible to succeed in American society because only the wealthy remain educated and prosperous, whereas the poor continue to be impoverished. The education system is corrupt, debasing those that can barely afford a college education by increasing tuition fees and diminishing resources available to students. Not only are less fortunate college students facing obstacles in obtaining an education, but budget cuts are tremendously impacting high schools in low-income neighborhoods as well. In the CBS News article, "California Budget Cuts Hit Poor Schools Harder", the author mentions, “California public schools struggle to provide all students with a quality education amidst economic crisis and deep cuts to education spending.” How can any public educational facility provide their students with quality education if the state continues to remove after-school programs, shorten school days, take away performing arts programs, remove summer school, and increase tuition in California state universities? The majority of students that are residents in urbanized neighborhoods will have limited resources offered in public schools, and will either have to work even harder to stay in school, or be discouraged from even attending school at all.


The state's education system was not designed for fostering academic accomplishments. As students, we are expected to pay hiked tuition fees, settle for overcrowded classes, and stay in a four-year university for a longer duration of time to obtain a degree. The MSNBC article, "Budget Cuts Devastate California Colleges", says, “When California college students return to campus this fall, they’ll find crowded classrooms, less access to faculty and counselors, fewer campus services and more difficulty getting classes they need to graduate, all while paying higher fees.” The road to educational accomplishments has been inundated by obstacles of unfairness. Students who strive to have a somewhat successful future have to overcome many challenges placed on the road ahead of them. More money for fewer classes? Some may feel that after high school having a college education may not even be within their grasp, while some who have already tasted college life have dropped out due to financial struggle. If tuition fees continue to rise, so will the number of dropouts.

Colleges and public high schools have similarly faced the loss of important funding due to budget cuts. As a result, teacher/professor lay offs have become an increasingly detrimental problem. “No teacher = No education.” With this said, many teachers have witnessed students taking matters into their own hands by organizing student protests and walkouts. Recently, Hamilton High School took action. An article in "Our Weekly" stated, “Hamilton High School walked out of their classes to protest school budget cuts and potential Los Angeles Unified School District teacher lay-offs.” Without teachers, how are our future generations supposed to learn? Without education, how can we even consider welcoming new teachers in the future? Without teachers, how are these students supposed to meet the minimal requirements needed to attend a 4-year university? These students have only been introduced to the beginning of the educational struggle; little do they know that their first organized walkout is just a glimpse of what's to come in college. Educational obstacles do not end in public high schools, they continue throughout the growth of the student’s education career following them into the 4-year university of their choice. Because of these drastic actions, more and more students will be discouraged from attending school.

Considering my own experience, the hike in university tuition is not the only problem. Commuting back and forth from LA to Northridge almost every day adds to my stress greatly. Between work and classes, I barely find time to rest. The higher the fees, the harder I have to work. The harder I have to work at my job, the less energy I have left to focus on my school assignments. As a student, I have already accepted the fact that I may have to attend CSUN an extra year, if lucky, in order to receive my degree. With the budget cuts and professor lay-offs, the classes that I need may not even be offered for the upcoming fall semester. With this said, I am honestly discouraged to continue with any effort put forward to achieving success.

Ultimately, the state budget cuts in the school system will greatly impact the poor. The rich will continue to be educated, while less fortunate students will persevere in studying and working full-time jobs just to meet tuition hikes. With teacher lay-offs in public high schools, it is almost inevitable that students will not meet required university standards. The opportunity to receive a high quality education has been stripped from students. The more that is taken from students, the more students will be placed outside looking in, especially with overcrowding and the increase in tuition. If students have access to limited resources, if teachers/professors are being laid off, and if there is a continued increase in tuition fees, then the future for our students does not look promising and more and more students will not even consider attending colleges. In the end, it is our struggle and hard work that proves that we are worthy of an education, but unfortunately, it will always be a more difficult path for those students that are in impoverished neighborhoods and are limited to public resources.