Cat Sposato photographed at home in Passaic, New Jersey, where she finished up her junior year at Columbia via Zoom. Photos: Caroline Tompkins

For First-Gen College Kids, the Class Struggle is Real

Low-income students like Cat Sposato are fighting for equality in a system built by and for elites

On March 8, as the coronavirus was starting to spread across the country and New York City seemed an increasingly dangerous place to be, a group of student activists at Columbia University met to discuss the situation. Classes were not yet canceled, and the chapter leaders of the First Generation Low Income Partnership (FLIP) — a national nonprofit that advocates for first-generation and low-income college students — were worried about their community. What if kids couldn’t afford adequate cleaning supplies or protective equipment? Or if they got sick and couldn’t do their work-study jobs, how would they pay the university fees? Many of these students couldn’t afford frequent delivery and takeout. Would they be more susceptible to the virus in the dining halls?

FLIP’s executive board was drafting a letter to the administration when an email landed: The university was temporarily canceling classes while it transitioned to virtual learning. “We were like, oh shit, this is getting very real,” said Cat Sposato, one of FLIP’s co-presidents. Within minutes, another FLIP member received a second email. It was a work-study supervisor, asking if the student could come in early for their shift.

For some students, it turned out, college was neither a retreat nor a buffer from the real world. It was simply an extension.

Here was the first-generation, low-income experience distilled. The school had canceled classes to keep students safe, but those with campus jobs were being asked to work and, in some cases, increase their hours. It was the college equivalent of what was already happening across the city: As white-collar professionals hunkered down at home, service-industry and blue-collar workers were commuting to grocery stores, warehouses, and hospitals. For some students, it turned out, college was neither a retreat nor a buffer from the real world. It was simply an extension.

Sposato and her team contacted the Columbia work-study office. She said they “were adamant about coming in being…