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The Ph.D. Now Comes With Food Stamps
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May 10, 2012, 6:48:03 PM5/10/12
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May 6, 2012
The Ph.D. Now Comes With Food Stamps
Laura Segall For The Chronicle
Melissa Bruninga-Matteau, a medieval-history Ph.D. and
adjunct professor who gets food stamps: "I've been able
to make enough to live on. Until now."
By Stacey Patton
"I am not a welfare queen," says Melissa Bruninga-
Matteau.
That's how she feels compelled to start a conversation
about how she, a white woman with a Ph.D. in medieval
history and an adjunct professor, came to rely on food
stamps and Medicaid. Ms. Bruninga-Matteau, a 43-year-old
single mother who teaches two humanities courses at
Yavapai College, in Prescott, Ariz., says the stereotype
of the people receiving such aid does not reflect
reality. Recipients include growing numbers of people
like her, the highly educated, whose advanced degrees
have not insulated them from financial hardship.
"I find it horrifying that someone who stands in front of
college classes and teaches is on welfare," she says.
Video
Watch: Tony Yang, a history lecturer, describes the toll
of having no steady source of income.
Photos
Jeff Haller for The Chronicle
Elliott Stegall, 51, who teaches English courses, picks
up food assistance at the WIC office in DeFuniak Springs,
Fla. "The first time we went to the office to apply, I
felt like I had arrived from Eastern Europe to Ellis
Island," he says. "We all had that same ragged, poor look
in our eyes."
Profiles
4 Academics on Food Stamps
People with advanced degrees, from Texas to Chicago to
Vermont, talk about what it's like to have to live on
federal aid.
Graphic
Academics Receiving Government Aid
Ms. Bruninga-Matteau grew up in an upper-middle class
family in Montana that valued hard work and saw
educational achievement as the pathway to a successful
career and a prosperous life. She entered graduate school
at the University of California at Irvine in 2002,
idealistic about landing a tenure-track job in her field.
She never imagined that she'd end up trying to eke out a
living, teaching college for poverty wages, with no
benefits or job security.
Continues at:
http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
o o o
About the terrorist Goon Squad:
"Myself, Mallu. Yourself?" (V. Bhattathiri)
<KalluM...@gmail.com> tries his best to be a bully --
telling others what and when to post, where to post and
where not to post, deliberately publishing lies about
others, stalking and abusing them with hate speech -- but
fails miserably. He is really stressed out, and like his
lap dog Prem Thomas (who currently posts as "P. Rajah"
<us...@this.com>, and issues *death threats* to people),
is priming himself for conditions such as stroke and
heart disease. Others in the Goon Squad include
Dayashankar M. Joshi "DMJoshi" <jos...@gmail.com> who
displays unquestioning obedience to Goon Squad thugs, and
the instigator who posts as "Bholu" <bh...@hotmail.com>
The Goon Squad currently posts most of their abuse
through eternal-september.org and by writing someone
else's name or handle in the "From:" header -- their
favorite now is "fana...@gmail.com" (note the extra "b"
and "gmail.com") to make it appear as if the posts are
from "fan...@aol.com", who has been a regular poster for
many years.
-Updated on February 2, 2012-
The Ph.D. Now Comes With Food Stamps
Laura Segall For The Chronicle
Melissa Bruninga-Matteau, a medieval-history Ph.D. and
adjunct professor who gets food stamps: "I've been able
to make enough to live on. Until now."
By Stacey Patton
"I am not a welfare queen," says Melissa Bruninga-
Matteau.
That's how she feels compelled to start a conversation
about how she, a white woman with a Ph.D. in medieval
history and an adjunct professor, came to rely on food
stamps and Medicaid. Ms. Bruninga-Matteau, a 43-year-old
single mother who teaches two humanities courses at
Yavapai College, in Prescott, Ariz., says the stereotype
of the people receiving such aid does not reflect
reality. Recipients include growing numbers of people
like her, the highly educated, whose advanced degrees
have not insulated them from financial hardship.
"I find it horrifying that someone who stands in front of
college classes and teaches is on welfare," she says.
Video
Watch: Tony Yang, a history lecturer, describes the toll
of having no steady source of income.
Photos
Jeff Haller for The Chronicle
Elliott Stegall, 51, who teaches English courses, picks
up food assistance at the WIC office in DeFuniak Springs,
Fla. "The first time we went to the office to apply, I
felt like I had arrived from Eastern Europe to Ellis
Island," he says. "We all had that same ragged, poor look
in our eyes."
Profiles
4 Academics on Food Stamps
People with advanced degrees, from Texas to Chicago to
Vermont, talk about what it's like to have to live on
federal aid.
Graphic
Academics Receiving Government Aid
Ms. Bruninga-Matteau grew up in an upper-middle class
family in Montana that valued hard work and saw
educational achievement as the pathway to a successful
career and a prosperous life. She entered graduate school
at the University of California at Irvine in 2002,
idealistic about landing a tenure-track job in her field.
She never imagined that she'd end up trying to eke out a
living, teaching college for poverty wages, with no
benefits or job security.
Continues at:
http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
o o o
About the terrorist Goon Squad:
"Myself, Mallu. Yourself?" (V. Bhattathiri)
<KalluM...@gmail.com> tries his best to be a bully --
telling others what and when to post, where to post and
where not to post, deliberately publishing lies about
others, stalking and abusing them with hate speech -- but
fails miserably. He is really stressed out, and like his
lap dog Prem Thomas (who currently posts as "P. Rajah"
<us...@this.com>, and issues *death threats* to people),
is priming himself for conditions such as stroke and
heart disease. Others in the Goon Squad include
Dayashankar M. Joshi "DMJoshi" <jos...@gmail.com> who
displays unquestioning obedience to Goon Squad thugs, and
the instigator who posts as "Bholu" <bh...@hotmail.com>
The Goon Squad currently posts most of their abuse
through eternal-september.org and by writing someone
else's name or handle in the "From:" header -- their
favorite now is "fana...@gmail.com" (note the extra "b"
and "gmail.com") to make it appear as if the posts are
from "fan...@aol.com", who has been a regular poster for
many years.
-Updated on February 2, 2012-
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