About Us
WCSU supports and advocates for first-generation, non-traditional, transfer and working class college students while educating the campus on the benefits of celebrating class diversity. Our goal is to offer a safe community where people can share their unique experiences, knowledge and goals. Through peer counseling and social & educational events, WCSU aims to create a campus where achieving academic and career success are possible for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. We also serve as peer advocates for students who need support when attending meetings with advisors, the financial aid office or confronting an uncomfortable situation. We offer our services to all students and our educational workshops to individuals and groups alike, including student orgs, residence halls and faculty. WCSU staff also offer insight on class issues and experiences for panels or classroom discussion.
History
The Working Class Student Union was founded in October 2007 by University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Chynna Haas. Chynna felt that working class students shared a unique identity that had traditionally been silenced. By creating WCSU, she sought to break that silence and the stigma it had created. WCSU became an organization for such students, an unprecedented resource on the UW-Madison campus as well as nationally.
Through WCSU we advocate for ourselves as working class students on the issues that deeply impact us, such as tuition increases and lack of representation in higher education curriculum.
Some more history about our founder can be found in this great article, "Working-Class Students Band Together at the U. of Wisconsin," from The Chronicle of Higher Education and in this article, "Working-Class Hero Chynna Haas Founded a Group to Help Students Like Herself Afford College," from Madison.com.