We were not dirt poor when I was growing up. But we were not exactly rich, either. A few times, we were barely lucky enough to hang on to the designation of “middle class.” Despite that, and my parents’ deep desire to be seen as ’60s radicals, my mother always held out hope that I might somehow make it to membership in the Hyannis Port crowd. She wanted me to be either a high-powered lawyer or an Episcopal bishop. Or maybe the host of “Masterpiece Theater.” I ended up being a writer, so no trips to the Cape with Buffy for me. But if, by some miracle, an acceptance letter from Harvard had arrived in our mailbox, I would have been freeze-dried, zip-locked, and shipped off to Cambridge before the envelope even hit the garbage can. But alas, we did not have the money or the social standing for such aspirations. I was accepted to four colleges (it was much easier in the ’80s, kids), and none were in the Ivy League.
But as it turns out, the recent insanity that has gripped the hallowed halls of our best and brightest universities has not proven to be a boon for enrollment, at least in the case of Harvard. And who would not want to go to Harvard? Actually, more people than one would expect. And to be completely honest, it is rather refreshing to see some common sense prairie-dogging across the American landscape.
If I were a college-aged person I wouldn’t want to go to Harvard right now. For that matter, I wouldn’t want to go to college right now. And students seem to agree. In fact, 17% of college-bound students have rejected early admission to Harvard. The Ivy League ain’t what it used to be.
On Wednesday, college admissions counselor Christopher Rim, who is the CEO of New York and Miami-based Command Education, told “FOX & Friends First”:
Virtually every student I’ve ever worked with who got into Harvard early pretty much stopped [looking elsewhere] This is the first time and first application season where I’ve seen a student who got into Harvard early that I’ve worked with for almost three and a half, four years now, starting in ninth grade — we’re seeing them say, ‘You know what? I want to apply to other schools because what if I graduate and this stigma and this reputation of Harvard stays the same?’ That’s their true concern.
One can hardly blame them. When the hallmark of an upper-tier school is anarchy, one would save time and frustration by simply setting a pile of money ablaze. The effect would be about the same, even if the college president has not plagiarized everything except her DoorDash orders. On top of that, it is clear that the collegiate hordes of hyenas have no sense of boundaries. No sane person wants to go to a college where there is a chance that they will be assaulted for the color of their skin, their gender, their beliefs, or their religion. Many people may see Harvard and similar institutions not just as wastes of time and money but as risks to their personal safety.
Unless you are a non-binary BIPOC or one who goes to extraordinary lengths and no end of contortions to show you are an ally of the same, you are probably about as welcome on campus as a case of dysentery. Or if you are not one of the chosen few or a self-described ally, you must be willing to submit to a minimum of four years of flagellation for the sins of people who are long dead, you have never met, or who may vaguely look like you in a darkened room. May God have mercy on your soul if you are a straight white male who just wants to get an impressive diploma and go to law school. Or a straight white female. Or an Asian. Or anyone who cannot find a way to insert themselves into a protected class. And no one needs four years of being told what a horrible person they are by dint of their DNA.
And then there are the courses. I looked up a list of departments and programs offered by the school. Some are the old stand-bys that might help you forge a career. But if anyone thinks that the Aga Khan Islamic Architecture program, Celtic Languages and Literature, or the Observatory of the Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures in the United States program will lead them to anything other than pouring lattes or asking if someone wants “fries with that,” that person is deluded. That degree in “The Impact of the Non-Binary Pufferfish in Medieval Maritime Gender Roles” may look good on a resume and might make your parents proud when May rolls around, but you can rest assured that there’s a cubicle in a call center somewhere waiting for you. Meanwhile, those plumbers and welders you used to laugh at are making money. Granted, the Biden economy is making life exceedingly rough on these people, but they will likely bank more than an average Harvard grad.
Although it may not be fashionable or even safe to say so out loud, it would appear that a number of young people do not relish the idea of voluntarily playing the role of the villain while indebting themselves to ungodly sums of debt, only to see that their efforts will provide them with no viable future. Especially if it means their names may appear on a “Do Not Hire” list after graduation. And despite the approved narrative, it may be that future college students realize that the mobs of masked cowards shouting “From the river to the sea,” seeing racism at every turn, and fretting about their gender are enjoying the only day in the sun they will ever have. Life is too short to hate yourself or others, all while going broke.