#22 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Sunday May 9)
Good morning,
A couple of stories about college.
ELITISM IN COLLEGE AND CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT OF SUPPORT IN COLLEGE
From Peter Bain:
I worry that a combination of ever-prohibitive economics and a perception (which I concede is all too rooted in truth) of elitism, privilege, and unspoken bigotry, is working to edge [liberal arts colleges] into irrelevance. I would love to see them reform and resurge, leaving behind the non-meritocratic elitism and privilege of their pedigrees and embracing the merit-based ecosystem that should have always served as their foundation. I do worry there is risk of institutional suicide if these colleges don’t find ways to deliver a liberal arts education to a 21st-century society.
On this front, I commend to your attention the Posse Scholars program, which takes superior high school graduates from under resourced backgrounds and groups them into supportive “Posses” of ten, prepares them over the summer before matriculation, and then delivers them to a wide group of principally liberal arts colleges (my alma mater among them). The support the scholars get from their Posse helps them survive those first couple of semesters at colleges where they would otherwise experience such a sense of alienation that they might not persevere. This bridge has created a scholarship program with a graduation (yes, graduation!) rate north of 90%, a particularly remarkable level. Perhaps the Posse Scholars and the liberal arts colleges can save each other and, in turn, deliver enough “top quartilers” to save our society.
MY “ME TOO” MOMENT
I have been dealing with a “me too” moment at a non-profit I’m involved with (sadly, this is not the first, I might add…). During the course of the conversation, a friend and I were relating how pervasive the disproportion of the “power dynamic” might find a woman agreeing to a meeting, only to find out that it was more than a meeting. We have all heard stories about the professor asking a student for coffee, or offering an internship or opportunity to be involved in a special project. My friend then said, “we can’t even relate. But this happens to women all the time—but never to men.”
And then I recalled that I had such a moment many years ago, while in college. The Center for Religious Life at USC regularly held retreats in the mountains, at its former Idyllwild campus. It wasn’t really a “religious retreat,” per se. Rather, more of a spiritual gathering with discussion groups, drum circles, hikes, and other such activities. I became friendly with a number of the religious leaders who organized these events.
After one of these retreats, one of the ministers called to invite me to dinner. Naïve and trusting as I was at the time, I saw nothing particularly noteworthy and happily agreed to meet him. Once I got there, I looked around the restaurant, located in West Hollywood. As I looked around, I noted that the clientele was predominantly male. Then I turned back toward the minister. He smiled. I smiled. I checked my watch. It was time to go.
Have a good day,
Glenn