In part two of this discussion, Student Wellbeing Adviser Tessa Warinner chats with Grace Clark, president of the University of Edinburgh branch of the 93% club. They highlight the impact of financial anxiety and class disparities on student mental health and university experience. This episode belongs to Podcast series: Student Wellbeing.
Link to Part 1 of this conversation : Student Wellbeing and the Hidden Costs of Financial Hardship.
Grace talks candidly about a conversation she had with her mother when she was applying to university:
“I will never tell you not go to for anything, but if you go somewhere like Edinburgh, I’m not going to be able to help you keep up with your peers. I can’t pay your rent for you, I can help you do loads of expensive sports societies. It’s stuff like that, that’s a really big thing for working-class students.”
Grace then went on to speak about how in her experience, working-class students approach money differently than students from more financially privileged backgrounds:
“She talked about, I can’t think of the word she used, but it was basically how financial trauma will effect your life as a student. Things like hoarding money is quite common in working-class students. Like I said, when I get my bursary from the university, it goes straight into my savings account because I’m like, Oh my God, I’m going to need this for a rainy day.”
The National Union of Students recently put out a report stating that students in financial distress have also had to cut back on food, heating, and socialising with their friends in order to make ends meet. 90% of survey respondents stated that this has had a knock-on effect on their mental health. They said they reported feeling more anxious and depressed, difficulties with sleeping, and constant worry about paying bills.
Tessa then shifts gears to ask Grace about her experience in her state school around mental health education and if it was ever talked about with them. She recounts her experiences:
“There was no discussion about mental health in the slightest… I don’t even remember it from biology class. It wasn’t even talked about in the horrible, crude, scientific sense, it was just not mentioned. For a school of over a thousand students, we had one pastoral support woman. The rest was left to the disability service, I think there was about five of them. Unfortunately, it was just not there and I don’t know anybody else who had that at school.”
Grace’s experience is in line with Mind’s 2021 report, which found that out of 2,870 secondary school students included in their sample, 62% of them received no support for their mental health from school officials. Tessa reflects on her experiences as a wellbeing adviser where she has had to teach undergraduate students the basics of what mental health is and how to care for it.
Tessa then wraps up the podcast by talking about her approach to encouraging and supporting students to advocate for themselves and their mental health in spite of the hurdles they face. Grace agrees and talks about how the 93% club is running a social media campaign called #stateschoolproud:
“Growing up it was difficult and that is going to probably impact you for the rest of your life, but you can be proud of that. You can be proud of everything you’ve overcome to get to this point. I’m not ashamed of the fact I grew up with a single parent. I’m not ashamed of how we didn’t have a lot of money growing up. It’s about being proud of your experiences even if it wasn’t easy.”
You can find out more about the 93% club at the University of Edinburgh by checking out their EUSA webpage here. If you are a current student and would like to speak to a wellbeing adviser about your mental health, you are more than welcome to book in a drop-in session here.
Timestamps:
(0:00) – Continuation of discussion of Grace’s experiences growing up working-class in rural North Yorkshire
(4:09) – Means-tested benefits and the student finance model
(7:01) – Tessa asks Grace about her experience in high school with mental health education
(15:14) – How to get involved with the 93% club
(20:32) – Student Wellbeing Service at the university
Tessa Warinner
Tessa is a Student Wellbeing Adviser at the Student Wellbeing service, The University of Edinburgh.
Grace Clark
Grace is the president of the Edinburgh branch of 93% club. She is a third year Philosophy and Politics student at The University of Edinburgh.
