Letter to the Editor: We must better serve low-income families

Dear Auburn Family,

I love Auburn. I grew up going to football games; my mom has a picture of me as a baby in a shirt that proudly states “of course I’m going to Auburn.” While at Auburn I was a Student Recruiter, a Camp War Eagle Counselor and was involved in SGA. I cried when Auburn won the National Championship. I love Auburn. I need to say that as much as possible, because I also need to say that it’s time we recognize that we as an Auburn family must do better.

I graduated from Auburn in 2009, and joined Teach for America, which sent me to Helena, Arkansas, where I have been working and teaching ever since. I brought my love and passion for Auburn into my classroom, and all of my students have known me as that crazy teacher who is obsessed with Auburn. I talk about Auburn so often that when a group of my students were asked at a college fair to name five Ivy League schools, they all included Auburn. I have taken three different groups of eighth grade students to tour Auburn, each year buying them Auburn gear. I watched as many of them dreamed about sitting in classes in the Haley Center and standing on the steps of Cater Hall to hear their names called for their student organization of choice. Each year these trips bring me great joy, but recently I’ve started to become frustrated by the reality of my students’ ability to get into and pay for an education at the University I love so much.

Recently a video has made the rounds in the Auburn community of a classroom full of second graders reciting the Auburn Creed, singing the fight song and reciting facts about Auburn that many in my graduating class probably could not have recalled. I watched this video with love, admiration and hope for the future of my Alma Mater. However, this video has sparked another emotion in me that has been festering over the past few years: frustration. The college counselor at my school has a habit of bringing my Auburn euphoria back down to Earth as she reminds me of the less than stellar job Auburn does of bringing in low-income students and students of color. Each time I try to steer one of my kids in the direction of Auburn, our counselor reminds me of the fact that Auburn is not doing enough for minority students from low-income communities.

Here are some of the sobering statistics. Seven percent of Auburn’s student population is black and only 13 percent of freshman receive Pell grants. Pell grants are awarded based on need, and the percentage of students who receive Pell grants serves as an indicator for how many low-income students the university is serving. Auburn’s 13 percent puts us in the bottom five percent in the country, and because of this Auburn has been labeled an “engine of inequality.” I work at KIPP, a national network of over 150 free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools dedicated to preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and life. Out of 162 schools, we currently only have one KIPPster enrolled in Auburn, and only 21 have ever been accepted. The average net cost for attending Auburn after grants have been applied is $17,014. That cost is too high for far too many of our students. These numbers are disheartening, exasperating, and should not be considered acceptable.

I need my Alma Mater to do a better job of serving our students. I need to know that I am not presenting an illusion to my students when I take them to tour Auburn. I need to know that when I talk passionately about how much I love my school, I am presenting a realistic option for the students we serve. The Auburn I know and love can do better. The video I referenced earlier has been posted to the Auburn Tigers Facebook page, and it has elicited quite the response. I am so happy the Auburn Family is excited to see the young students on that video talk about their love for Auburn. However, if statistics hold, approximately one student in that class would actually be able to attend Auburn. If we cannot work together to improve these statistics, we are not being fair to the kids in that video or any of the kids from low-income communities across our country. We cannot just look at kids espousing their love for Auburn and say “how cute,” when the reality of attending Auburn is so far out of reach for so many of our students. I am calling on the Auburn family to do better for students in underserved communities. Call the financial aid office. Write the President. Give money that is designated for students in need. We can all do better, and we must. War Eagle!

Levi Rogers

Class of 2009