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Balancing
s
t
and books
How TU students cope with pregnancy, motherhood
Tiffany Oglesby went to class the morning of Feb. 11, 2011, and went into labor later that day.
Amanda Tejada carries her textbooks on her back and her third child in her womb.
Leah Koznarsky plays defense for the Tigers field hockey team, but is now defending her son’s
right to child support in court.
The Towerlight spoke with three Towson undergraduates about how they function not only
as day-to-day students, but also as mothers.
JEREMY BAUER-WOLF
Arts & Life Editor
Tiffany Oglesby, 20, and Londyn, 2 months
Tiffany Oglesby said that when she found out about her
unplanned pregnancy, she did not panic about the fact that
she would soon have a child to take care of.
"My first thought is that my mom was going to kill me,”
Oglesby said. "But when I told her about it, she was totally
cool about it. She said, 'That’s fine, I had you when I was
20. I had both my kids in college. You can do it.’ She said,
‘Only when you drop out of school will I kill you. That’s not
an option.”'
And the junior family studies major did attend school
for the full eight and a half months that she was pregnant.
Oglesby had her daughter, Londyn, early on Feb. 11, 2011,
after going to class that same day.
"I wasn’t expecting until March 1," Oglesby said. "So I
thought 1 was fine. And when I went home 1 just suddenly
went into labor. My doctor asked me, "You went to school
today?’ She just couldn’t believe it.”
But Oglesby defied everyone’s expectations. She went to
class regularly, only missing when absolutely necessary. She
also said she that never backed down against the judgment
she felt that she faced.
"Walking across campus, everyone would stop and stare,”
she said. "Or people would make random comments like
‘Why are you at school, pregnant?’ and ‘Shouldn’t you be
home?’ At the end of the day, they should be more respect¬
ful that I’m not home, but I’m still pregnant and trying to
get my degree, and get my education."
Oglesby said she felt that out of all her supporters, includ¬
ing her mother, her boyfriend, and her sister, her professors
were especially helpful.
"They were like, ‘As long as you're coming back and you
don’t want any extra handouts [and] you’re going to stay on
See BABY, page 17
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