Meet the dedicated team of student journalists behind AccessU: First Gen on Campus
About Us
Reporting on and centering the stories of first-generation students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
AccessU is produced by student journalists from the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Letter from the Editor
One in four undergraduates at the University of Minnesota is a first-generation college student — someone whose parents do not have four-year college degrees. This group is made up of people from a wide range of racial, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds. When we decided to cover this community, our team engaged in many conversations about our commitment to combating stereotypes surrounding first-generation students. We recognized that our reporting needed to be thorough and nuanced to accurately portray the experiences of such a large and diverse population.
Through discussions with staff at the university’s Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence, the First-Gen Institute, the Upward Bound program and other initiatives, we learned first-generation students on our campus need support and sometimes do not know where to find it. Because many of their parents do not have experience navigating post-secondary education, first-generation students often begin college without prior knowledge about its financial and academic systems. This makes it difficult to navigate classes, graduation requirements and options for tuition funding.
The Supreme Court’s decision last summer to end affirmative action practices in college admissions was at the forefront of our minds when conducting preliminary research on the first-generation student experience. This historic ruling made us consider how accessible our university has been for marginalized communities, including people of color, who account for more than one-fourth of all undergraduates yet nearly two-thirds of undergraduate first-generation students. As new classes enter, this accessibility will likely become even more important.
The purpose of this project is to bring the voices of first-generation students to the forefront of these conversations about the accessibility of higher education in the immediate years to come. By spotlighting these perspectives, we aim to emphasize the resilience of first-generation students on this campus. We strive to uncover obstacles in the university’s systems and highlight the initiatives working to bridge those gaps. We hope that this work will promote positive change that makes the university a more inclusive place, where all students can succeed in college and beyond.
Jessy Rehmann, Editor
AccessU: First Gen on Campus