Vivyan Adair recently presented a brown-bag lunch discussion about the history of welfare, contemporary welfare legislation, and the effect such legislation has had on people in the United States and at Hamilton College. Adair serves as the Elihu Root Peace Fund Associate Professor of Women's Studies and the director of the ACCESS project. Sharon Gormley, the coordinator of the ACCESS project, assisted with the lecture, which was sponsored by HAVOC and Think Tank.
Adair began the discussion by addressing the history of welfare in the United States, and how our conceptions of welfare have changed over time. The existence of welfare in the United States, she explained, dates back as far as the late 1800s; during this time, white widows were compensated monetarily, as long as they were good Christian women. Women who did not fit the social or physical norm of the time were oftentimes denied welfare. During the early 1900s, there was a "fervent attempt" to Americanize new immigrants; therefore, Adair explained, welfare was used early on as a say to socialize and socially manipulate people to act a certain "American" way.
As ideas regarding race and socioeconomic status changed over time, so did the conception of welfare and the welfare state. With the changing times came a new idea of the deserving versus the undeserving poor. As our nation changed socially and economically through the 30's, 40's and 50's, so did the idea of welfare. Adair claimed that social misconceptions regarding welfare are caused by "racist rhetoric perpetuated poverty through welfare legislation" and this was all caused by our "racist culture."
Recent legislation, according to Adair, has caused a major shift in the idea of welfare, moving away from emphasizing work (as occurred after Clinton's welfare reform in 1995) and moving to a "shared emphasis of work and marriage." Adair explained the studies that the federal government used to develop these new reforms, and then explained the faults of the studies and experiments. Adair and Gormley then explained in depth how this new legislation has affected Hamilton ACCESS students.
The ACCESS Project provides low-income parents with educational opportunities. The program combines an intensive introduction to the liberal arts with social service, career, and family support. All of the students, prior to beginning the program, were dependent on county Social Services programs. The ACCESS Project essentially helps individuals move from a life dependent on public assistance to one as an educated, contributing member of society using education as its primary tool. The first class of ACCESS began in January of 2001.
ACCESS students have been faced with several new challenges with the new welfare legislation. In order to collect welfare benefits, the students need to work at least 30 hours a week, in addition to academic and household responsibilities. Also, the new legislation has cut many ACCESS benefits. "The future does not look good," Adair said. She and Gormley encouraged student "activists" who were present for the discussion to fight for this cause and help change the policy "which perpetuates poverty."
-- by Emily Lemanczyk '05
