John Strayer's column last week about the Kiewit repair shop's "Premium Service" ("Premium Service Conflicts With Principles of The College," Nov. 1, 1995), by which, for a higher fee, students can have their computers repaired faster than those with just "normal service") touched upon an issue which I've often thought about here at Dartmouth: The equality of students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
As Strayer says, the "Premium Service" option ends up favoring students with more money and screwing those without it. Now, many of us would look at this situation and simply shrug, as if to say, "sorry, but that's life. Money talks." And if you had asked me a few years ago, I might have said the same thing, maybe even adding that this was the beauty of capitalism and the free market, forcing us all to work hard so as to avoid getting screwed.
But this isn't real life. This is Dartmouth. And we're not in the real world right now, we're in college. This is our own little four-year sanctuary from reality, and while we're here, we do all work very hard, at getting good grades, at extracurricular activities, at sports, whatever -- but not really, for now at least, at making money. Many have jobs, but everyone's main reason for being here is still the education.
College is a time when people from all walks of life, all kinds of places and environments, come together to learn -- from classes, from their experiences and from each other. It's also a time for deciding what to do with the rest of your life. Ideally, with so much to think about right now, we should be in a quiet, removed setting, far from the mundane worries of "real life," which would only get in the way.
A college should be a community of equals, with as much interaction with one's fellow students as possible. At this stage in life, it really shouldn't matter where we've come from; assuming the admissions office didn't make any major errors, we are all smart and capable students. We all deserve to be here, and all of us have the brains and the ability to succeed in life.
And, while we may forget, despite some exceptions such as "Premium Service" and the fact that some of us have to work while others get to relax, Dartmouth comes pretty close to that ideal. At Dartmouth, no amount of money can buy you a better dorm room, a better professor, your own seat in the library, exemption from waiting in lines, better grade or even a good parking space. So, though we may all come from dramatically different places, while we are here, we do come very close to equality, and we all get the same chance to succeed. Where we go from here is essentially up to how hard we work. Rather than dwell on the exceptions, we should be thankful Dartmouth comes so close to these ideals.
In his column, Strayer sarcastically asks whether Kiewit's cold, money-oriented mentality will spread across campus to Food Court, the dorms or even course enrollment priorities. Here too we should be thankful that, so far, it has not. Yes, it is a hassle to have to worry about getting put in the Lodge (or worse); at Dartmouth, you could have a dorm named after you and you still might get terrible housing.
But look at the alternative. Here it would be unthinkable, but at many larger universities, dorms do vary significantly in cost, and wealthier students do end up segregated from their poorer classmates. Sure, there are times I wish I could pay a little extra not to have to live in the River, but, all in all, I'm glad I can't.
Although that is what may happen in the "real world," now is not the time for us to separate ourselves based on what is essentially our parents' socioeconomic levels. We should all be content to live together, get our computers repaired together and wait in line together. Because, as we've all heard before, much of the education that we get in college comes not in the classroom but from interacting with types of people you may never have known before and might never have gotten to know were it not for these kinds of random encounters that are rare in the real world.
We all come from different places, and we will probably all go our separate paths when we leave here. But for now, for four great years, we are equals, carefree and insulated from the outside world and its harsh realities, and that's the way it should be.
