Graphic by Kinsey Ratzman ’21
BY NINA LARBI ’22
At the beginning of the semester, my classmates redownloaded dating apps to take their chances with people in the area. Looking over others’ shoulders, I wondered why they would almost immediately swipe left on community college students or young people who are not attending college. The way many of us look down upon such individuals and the institutions they attend is widespread. This and the way we pride ourselves in having a decreasing acceptance rate, are both clear examples of elitism. No amount of “woke” laptop stickers will save us from it.
College elitism is no stranger to any of us — we all had to go through the college application and acceptance process. The College Board’s own data shows that high SAT scores, which are requisite to gain admission into prestigious colleges, are disproportionately earned by students from high income families. College acceptance letters and the measly packages of financial aid that come with them hit high school students like a brick. Attaching one’s worth to an Ivy League school that looks over their application for a handful of minutes cannot end well, and many high-achieving students are left devastated. Eventually, they learn the hard way that a “better education” is a myth, that state schools are just as good as private schools and that community college is just as viable an option as private and public schools.
As much as I thought that high school-level elitism was behind us all, it remains at Mount Holyoke. Elitism also intertwines with academic performance and leaves us feeling like imposters. We refuse to go to Speaking, Arguing and Writing (SAW) mentors or TAs just to maintain the illusion that we are perfect students and that we deserve a place at this school.
Mount Holyoke boasts a socially conscious campus: our DEI mission is to “build and maintain a campus environment that is inclusive, pluralistic and free of discrimination.” We, as the student body, created this environment. We run numerous cultural centers and inclusive organizations, protest for causes ranging from divestment to administration accountability and, in general, try to be as open-minded as possible. But are we really inclusive and open-minded if we judge people for going to community college or needing academic help help? We have internalized the elitism we have been fed and, in turn, we are hurting others.
We have watched the democratic debates and all cheered when candidates like Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wanted to make college free. The elitist bubble we live in will eventually pop; all that will be left is our own disappointment.