Handing down our crowns

By Yesenia Arroyo

In a recent opinion article titled “Why working on Wall Street hurts the economy,” Coy Ozias presents an economic argument that suggests pursuing a high-paying job after graduation will increase the income gap in America and hurt the middle class. Ozias’ argument is limited because it does not take into account a perspective that is so often overlooked on this campus: that of the lower-income, first-generation minority student. I speak for students who understand they do not have the luxury to pursue only their personal fulfillment. I speak for the students who know that their lives, their Princeton journeys and their professional careers are not solely about themselves and never have been.

My grandmother was illiterate. She signed her welfare checks with Xs and would take my 9-year-old mother with her to the welfare office to translate her Spanish into English. My grandmother and many of my Puerto Rican ancestors struggled because that was the only life available to them. Though I have never met my grandmother, I feel that her struggles are a part of me. My ancestors were hated for the color of their skin, scorned for being uneducated, judged for having too many children and for staying in and perpetuating social and economic situations they were incapable of escaping. Two short generations after my grandmother’s time, I walk through the campus of Princeton University. I am the first generation in my family to go to college. On my shoulders I carry the weight of my race, my gender, my low-income status, everything that has ever signaled to me that I should not and could not be a Princeton student. I have a responsibility to all those who have sacrificed so that I could be here to do something substantial with this opportunity. I am here for my father, who spent his entire life working as a New York City construction worker, who is treated as inferior and looked down upon despite the fact that he is one of the most hard-working and honorable people I know. One of my greatest aspirations is to be able to repay my parents for all of their hard work. I dream of the day I can tell them, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”

My responsibility to give back is not limited to my parents, but also extends to those who do not have the privileges that I have. Economic stability is an important part of why I am here because I know that money opens doors. It provides access to opportunities that are out of the reach of many in my Bronx community. My hope is that, through my success, I can make the road easier for others like me. Students who aspire to high-paying jobs should not be demonized. The desire for economic stability or advancement is a reasonable motivation for any Princeton student. Instead of deterring students from joining the ranks of the 1 percent, Princeton should instill a sense of social responsibility in each and every student so that once we are in positions of power, we will feel compelled to give back to communities and people who may not have had the opportunities and resources we have been given.

Perhaps those who say money doesn’t matter are not motivated by the psychological bruise left by the instability of poverty. Perhaps they do not know the limitations lack of money can have on a life, on whole generations of people, on whole races. I have been given an opportunity to advance my family’s social and economic status, and I will take it. I know there are other students on this campus who are driven by the responsibility they owe to those who have paved the way for them. I also know that I am not the only student on this campus who understands deeply what James Baldwin meant when he said our crowns have already been bought and paid for. Let us extend Baldwin’s call to wear our crowns and work diligently so that we may pay for the crown of another.

Yesenia Arroyo is a classics major from Bronx, N.Y. She can be reached atyarroyo@princeton.edu.