“I can’t do anymore online shopping this month because I already spent two times my allowance…I’m so broke!”
“I just got back from spring break in Cancun so I’m actually really poor right now.”
The penniless college student is a character with which we are all too familiar.
We hear the terms “broke” and “poor” thrown around frequently not only in conversations with our peers, but also in nearly every realm of the media. In both contexts, the concept is utilized as some sort of common, uniting joke. It’s funny to play the role of the broke college student. It’s cool. In fact, playing the role of the broke college student is a trend.
Trends are ubiquitous in college culture. Whether or not one chooses to partake in said trend, it is easy to join the lace-up shirt crew as some sort of unspoken uniform or even the Adidas Superstar sneaker group, as they are are worn by approximately 1 of every 2 pairs of feet in the Bison.
Trends can be harmless, but in regards to the romanticized idea of the broke college student, this is not the case. Although trends are intended to be optional — anyone can choose to follow them and anyone can choose to not follow them — for many, the broke college student is not optional; it is reality. As much as we have been led to think otherwise, “broke” and “poor” are references to socioeconomic status, not checking account balance.
Using the idea of the broke college student as an optional, satirical identifier is a problem because it undermines the experience of those who carry this identifier regardless of whether or not they choose to. Calling ourselves “broke” or “poor” in order to be funny is failing to recognize our privilege. After all, even at Bucknell where tuition has risen to around $65,000 this year, socioeconomic diversity does indeed exist on campus.
Furthermore, the very nature of the broke college student as a trend deems it temporary. At any point, it can be declared uncool and will then proceed to be forgotten by those who initially followed it. But, again, because some do not have the privilege to escape the terms “broke” and “poor,” they will remain affixed to them even when we stop thinking it’s hilarious to refer to all college students as such.
While it is important to remain cognizant of the identifiers we claim for ourselves, it is just as important to extend the sentiment while speaking with our peers. Our language is our reality. Be ready to be called out and be ready to call out others; this is all an ongoing conversation that we must be willing to have.