National Working Class Student Union

About

The National Working Class Student Union connects chapters of the Working Class Student Union (WCSU) located on college campuses across the United States. Together they use education to raise awareness about socioeconomic issues in higher education and advocacy to empower and support working class students.

The first Working Class Student Union was founded by Chynna Haas in October 2007 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Growing tired of the ignorant comments made in her classes regarding socioeconomic status, dealing with less than supportive financial aid officers, and struggling to balance work and school,   Chynna, then University of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore, was on the verge of dropping out. In a last ditch effort to find a way to survive her last 2 1/2 years at the university, she decided to look for other working class students to connect with.

To legitimize her efforts, she asked two fellow working class friends to allow her to use their names to found the Working Class Student Union (WCSU) as a student organization at UW-Madison. She then rented a room to host a Working Class Student Forum with the mission of finding other working class students and discussing the issues they faced on campus. This simple idea led to a telling meeting that left Haas with a list of more than 50 issues her working class peers were struggling with. This list became the foundation of the Working Class Student Union and later the National Working Class Student Union.  The WCSU Chapter at UW-Madison continues to thrive.