Monday September 10, 2018 by Daily Titan

Opinion 5

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2018

Column: The struggles of a student mother Balancing school work and a new baby is difficult but worth it.

SOMMER CLARK Staff Writer

I was never a firm believer in love at first sight - until my daughter was placed on my chest for the first time after nine months of eagerly waiting to meet her. That moment I understood the true meaning of love. It felt like the world fell away and created an overwhelming sense of calmness and completeness. But then came time to leave the hospital with my daughter and to enter the reality of motherhood. My allotted recovery and bonding time came to an end, pushing life into full speed, welcoming work and school into my new routine. Like many single parents attending college, I am fighting several time demands. Almost 56 percent of single parents may devote upwards of 30 hours per week to watching their children, according to a 2014 study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. It’s a juggling act: rotating work, school and mommy duties. Pumping in three-hour increments each day ensures my four-month-old daughter’s food supply maintains production. In between pumpings, I squeeze in all of my school responsibilities as well. My mornings are full of

laundry folding, washing and preparing bottles, and tending to my daughter’s needs. School work is done while she is content in her rocker or asleep in bed. I constantly receive suggestions to sleep when the baby sleeps, but I feel if I follow that advice, nothing would ever get done. Most of the time, I wish I had a few extra limbs to help finish everything. With so much to do before leaving for class, I usually only have a few minutes to focus on myself. Therefore, I sport the messy mom bun. It keeps my hair out of the strong grip of my daughter as I kiss her goodbye, and hides the tangles I have no time to brush out. My mom and aunt help watch her so I don’t have the extra worry of leaving my daughter with a stranger. At first, I was hesitant to accept help from family because I wanted to prove to myself, and them, that I can do everything. Now, I see it as a blessing because without their help and support I don’t know how I would make it through this semester. I considered taking this semester off by doing a stop-out to adjust to my motherly duties and ensure that my daughter was being taken care of. For many Cal State Fullerton students, a stop-out during spring or fall semester is an option that requires no form to fill out. For one semester, a student may be unenrolled, but they must enroll in classes the following semester. It is also possible to use the stop-out policy more than once, just not for consecutive semesters according to registration and records. Instead of choosing that route, I was able to feel safe in the decision to return to school

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for my last semester with some of my family’s guidance. It’s only for a few hours a day, which allows me to return home and spend my nights with my daughter. In the evenings I return home tired, but eager to sweep my daughter into my arms and witness for myself her new habits and abilities. She amazes me with her tenacity and dedication to her development. After a night of feedings, bathings and readings, I fall

asleep knowing that I must wake up the next day and repeat it all again. The number of single mothers finishing school and receiving their degrees is low. In 2015, only 31 percent of single mother students attained a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. There are days where I want to collapse in bed with my daughter safe in my arms, forgetting the world and the

Removing bail won’t fix bias This new elimination will cause further inequality.

AURIELLE WEISS Staff Writer

On Aug. 28, California became the first state to eliminate cash bail. The newly-passed law, under the bill name SB-10, goes into effect October 2019. It will give judges full authority to discern whether or not a person awaiting trial stays in jail or is released during that time. In theory, this sounds like a step forward, but in effect it fails to address systemic bias toward race and class. Whether or not a person gets released while their trial pends is determined by judges who will rely on technology known as pretrial risk assessments. These tests are essentially algorithms that collect data from law enforcement, victims, prosecutors and the defense. Once obtained,

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the system then attaches a score to the arrested person: ranging from high, medium or low risk. According to the bill, their score estimates the probability of that person failing to appear for their court date or committing another crime. If the person arrested is considered low risk, they will be released from jail because they are unlikely to threaten public safety or abscond from court. Those who are deemed medium risk, pose a moderate threat and would either be released or jailed until their court date. High-risk people, unless the judge decides otherwise, would be held until their date because according to the risk assessment algorithm, they have the highest probability to reoffend or not appear for their arraignment, according to the law. This is a problem. Some risk assessment tests can be racially or economically biased as the tests collect data that ultimately end up punishing people who live in bad neighborhoods, have little education or come from unsupportive families. According to ProPublica, the data that this particular test takes into account, is no different. If the data given to the judges from law enforcement factors in how many arrests someone’s had, their prior arrests might be used against them even if they weren’t convicted of that crime. SEE LAW

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responsibilities it comes with. But, in this role as a working and studying mother, I am learning that I must be flexible, versatile and patient. The odds of achieving an education aren’t in a single mother’s favor, it is important to fight against them. Completing mine is a key factor in providing my daughter with the secure life she deserves. I want her to have a mommy she can look up to for care and direction throughout her life journey.

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