What is the difference anyway?
This weekend my close friend was given the chance to reconnect with an ex-boyfriend who currently goes to Harvard. Needless to say, upon visiting the University of Michigan campus he had plenty of snide remarks to share. Even as far from Boston as Ann Arbor, this kid continued to basque in the Crimson glow of his beloved Harvard. Get this – he entered the Law Library and whooped at the top of his lungs when he noticed the stained glass Harvard crest on the window. Now, far be it from me to criticize someone’s pride in their institution, but I would like to propose two separate but relatable questions: One: What makes Harvard & Michigan so different anyway? Two: What makes a Harvard student, or any student, a better or more capable one?
Minor differences between the schools include: Harvard as small, elitist, traditional, private and Ivy League; whereas Michigan is gigantic, has quality education for the masses public & big time athletics and is a “Joe College” (fraternities…).
On the contrary, Michigan has been called “the Harvard of the Midwest”, so the academic comparability between institutions is present. In accordance with Louis Menand’s article “Live and Learn”, a list of three theories of education, I think Harvard and Michigan could snugly fit into the first theory. It is questionable that, because of this, there are staunch differences between the two as well.
The first theory is that college should be a challenging sorting-out process that helps professional schools and some employers to find the most academically accomplished students. In defense of this claim: Harvard, as well as most other prestigious institutions, was based upon a system of elitist legacies. Following its inception, students were admitted based upon their social status and their family’s legacy at the university. This means that if you were the wealthy grandchild of a Harvard graduate, you were guaranteed a spot. This sense of elitist entitlement, in my opinion, has not changed much over the past centuries. Though outstanding academic achievement and financial need could also gain someone acceptance, the legacy clause still stands.
This is not to say that the same legacy clause does not exist at Michigan. It is also true, here, that if a student has a legacy he/she is very likely to gain acceptance. Students at both institutions, upon acceptance, are given access to opportunities that students elsewhere could only dream of (such as networking amongst alums, prestigious internships, study abroad programs, etc.). These opportunities allow for unmatched advantages in the workplace. Because of this, both institutions can be considered “elitist” in the regard that many students are accepted largely on the bases of exceptional academic achievement and legacy; thus, I am inclined to believe that Michigan and Harvard are quite similar.
But honestly what really makes students so appealing to elite universities? Is it the academic ability [their brains], community involvement [their service], their legacy, their work or research experience? Latour asked in “Pandora’s Hope”, ”What does the gun add to the shooting?” Latour suggests that the gun enables the criminal, does the brain enable the acceptee, or is it more dependent on their personal connections? He continued to write that materialists claim that a person [good citizen] is transformed by carrying the gun. Because of this, materialists suggest that our qualities, personalities, and our competences “depend on what we hold in our hands”.
I feel as if Latour’s quotes can be interpreted as a thought akin to: The connections that students have and the opportunities for “real-world” experience they have been exposed to throughout their adolescent lives aid in acceptance to elites in a much larger manner than transcripts and test scores. So, in this way, I believe that materialists are correct in that our abilities depend on what we have access to – the privileges we have.
Going to any post-secondary institution is a gift. Even today not all students have the opportunity to earn a degree, especially from Michigan or Harvard. Though many acceptances are based upon unfair advantages, our education is truly in our hands. Here’s to making the most of it. Go Blue!
No comments:
Post a Comment