metrosxualbutch

Alternate as well-- anyone know how many alternates they have? Congrats to the winners.

Funding letter followed the next day, as well as an email from DGS. Good luck!

Ah yes. thanks for this thread. I'm the only of my siblings to have a college degree, and the first in my family to do grad study. I find both my family responses (my mom sometimes just ignores conversation about grad school, or othertimes pretends to not hear what I'm saying when I say "Fully funded. They pay me for studying and teaching undergraduates" and keeps insisting that I keep my full-time (low-paid, stressful) job at the university and "take classes at night" the idea of entering academia as a kind of apprentiship, with the end result of going for tenured professorship is way beyond her. We have consistent fights about all the 'highfaluting' ways I've adopted like... eating vegatables not from a can and refusing to eat american cheese food product, thinking its important to take vacations or take a risk even if it means leaving a secure job. Class conflict class conflict class conflict. I went to two different private undergrad schools to eventually culminate in my degree-- had to drop out halfway through because my dad went on disability and the 100 dollars a month he contributed broke me (and I didn't know how to ask for/access resources). The hardest thing about goign to private schools (aside from the, that's right, 50 thousand in loan debt from undergraduate school), and higher ed that's not the community college (as was expected of my people) was adjusting to the cultural differences of agency: My people consider it rude to put yourself in front of someone and ask for soemthing simply because you want it, but that's precisely what an Informational Interview is. It took me MONTHS to get up the nerve to do one. I also worked 3 jobs while in school full time and taking out loans (i went to school in NYC, an expensive undertaking) and would LOSE MY MIND when fellow students would snore in class or not do the readings. They were bringing down the education I paid dearly for. It's a difference of valuing. As I move onto graduate school, i'm finding relief in attending a public institution-- i'm with people who are from backgrounds more similar, and the pressures are less. My reserach topic is class assimilation and class passing inspired by these very struggles-- what do we leave behind, what does it mean to gain 'agency', what do we lose, what do we gain, do we help our people in the long run when your family thinks you've got too "high and mighty" but your financially secure, getting healthcare, or eating food consistently for the first time. What does assimilating do to our souls.

Hi there, I applied to the Comm Studies MA program, and _just_ got my acceptance letter this weekend-- I live in Durham, so it probably got to me faster than most. I was accepted, and they said they accepted only 15 out of 190-- i'm assuming that's masters candidates. I hope you get in, and if so I'd love to get in touch. g

Hey there, I moved to Durham about a year and a half ago from Brooklyn, just to downsize city and upsize cost of living-- I work at UNC and am admitted to the comm program for the fall. I applied to the program and will most likely acecpt over other places (berkeley or NYU) because I LOVE living here. When my ladyfriend was fixing on moving here from brooklyn she said "what will the community be like" and I said "Slow queers on front porches" and while that's a bit of a trope, its spirit is true. The queers I've met have been super kind and focused, lots of queer grad students doing good work, and also the community activism is central, personal and loving in a way opposite of NYC organizing, which, at its worst (and commonly) was splayed, cold, removed, over-visioned and under-impacting (with the exception of some few amazing groups). Story short-- people meet in houses here, have dinners, are used to transient new people. many people stay, there's good economy, decent food, lots of trees, and time to spend with the community you make. that's my pitch. Come on down!