The Southeastern Sociology Association (SSA) will be sponsoring an open forum on Wednesday for students to discuss their life as both a student and a parent.

This year’s forum will be held tomorrow, Feb. 8, in the Student Union Magnolia Room at 6:30 p.m.”Students can talk about their experiences as student parents, and some of the difficulties they may have to deal with,” said Vicki Roberts, president of the SSA and sophomore sociology major. “It’s sponsored by the SSA, and meant to encourage more students to join SSA.”

Each semester, SSA pinpoints a student issue, trying to build awareness around it through open student discussions.

“The SSA focuses on issues pertaining to social justice, so what we decided to do every semester was to pick an issue to focus on and then we build around that. Previously, we’ve had the idea of a student daycare come up,” said Roberts.

Rebecca Hensley, instructor of sociology, will sit in on the forum. On the issue of a student daycare being provided at Southeastern, Hensley said that, if it was an option, it could help students with children to finish school.

One concern with the student day care option is cost effectiveness.

“A large problem with child care centers is that the demand far exceeds the supply,” said Roberts. “It creates waiting lists which leaves many student parents without access to the facility. So the discussion would be how to avoid those kinds of problems.”

The gathering will give student parents a chance to network with other students in similar situations. Another concern Roberts points out in the day care would be abuse of the facility.

“I don’t want to see a campus day care where students just drop their kids off and then ditch class. It needs to strictly be an option for parents seeking a higher education, not a free baby sitter,” said Roberts.

The SSA is trying to create a safe space for student parents who are struggling to balance school and home life. Students can benefit from the forums by communicating with other student parents.

“It makes for a good place for students to come together,” said Hensley.

“The purpose is to raise awareness for non-traditional students, like people who have kids, so that they don’t feel so lost. I know personally, it’s really difficult to juggle both worlds,” Roberts said. “For those that are parents, this gives them a chance to communicate with each other, because it can be alienating at times. It helps them meet other people in their position.”

If you’re interested in joining SSA or would like more information about the upcoming forum, you can contact president Vicki Roberts at [email protected] or Rebecca Hensley at [email protected].