Driven Apart by Class
Every prospective Yale student reads the pamphlets and learns of an idyllic sanctuary—a safe haven for creative thought and groundbreaking ideas where students’ lives outside of school inform the knowledge that they bring to the table. Students’ backgrounds would make them unique, and part of a greater whole that consists of fellow students from every conceivable walk of life. While all this is true, the pamphlets neglect to mention that there are subtle but undeniable ways in which the variety of environments from which Yale students hail drive them apart and stratify their social lives.
I imagined, as an incoming Yale freshman, that my solidly middle class upbringing would be fairly typical of my classmates. I wasn’t so self deluded that I didn’t imagine that I would have colleagues who came from significantly more privileged backgrounds, but I assumed that it wouldn’t matter. Upon arrival, I realized what a difference one’s socioeconomic background makes on one’s social life, and, perhaps more importantly, how little anybody seems to address this fact. I’m certain none of my peers consciously try to remind me of the difference between our economic privilege, but in subtle ways I can’t help but notice. It’s uncomfortable when I can’t go out to restaurants with my friends as often as I’d like because I know I won’t be able to pay for my portion of the bill and have enough left in my bank account for textbooks. Colleagues often discuss their plans for the summer, talking about trips they’re going to take and summer sessions they’re going to attend. When they ask me what my plans are, I am forced to admit that I’ll be spending the summer working full time back home to afford next semester.
My colleagues are totally unaware how hurt I am by situations like these because they’ve never been forced to acknowledge economic disparity. They can’t be blamed for it, of course, because nobody at Yale, it seems, acknowledges economic disparity. Yale does a lot to allow people from different backgrounds to attend. I’m profoundly fortunate to be able to attend because of this. However, I’m sure I speak for many students when I say that the fact that socioeconomic strata are rarely if ever discussed on campus leaves the student body uncomfortable to say the least.
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I imagined, as an incoming Yale freshman, that my solidly middle class upbringing would be fairly typical of my classmates. I wasn’t so self deluded that I didn’t imagine that I would have colleagues who came from significantly more privileged backgrounds, but I assumed that it wouldn’t matter. Upon arrival, I realized what a difference one’s socioeconomic background makes on one’s social life, and, perhaps more importantly, how little anybody seems to address this fact. I’m certain none of my peers consciously try to remind me of the difference between our economic privilege, but in subtle ways I can’t help but notice. It’s uncomfortable when I can’t go out to restaurants with my friends as often as I’d like because I know I won’t be able to pay for my portion of the bill and have enough left in my bank account for textbooks. Colleagues often discuss their plans for the summer, talking about trips they’re going to take and summer sessions they’re going to attend. When they ask me what my plans are, I am forced to admit that I’ll be spending the summer working full time back home to afford next semester.
My colleagues are totally unaware how hurt I am by situations like these because they’ve never been forced to acknowledge economic disparity. They can’t be blamed for it, of course, because nobody at Yale, it seems, acknowledges economic disparity. Yale does a lot to allow people from different backgrounds to attend. I’m profoundly fortunate to be able to attend because of this. However, I’m sure I speak for many students when I say that the fact that socioeconomic strata are rarely if ever discussed on campus leaves the student body uncomfortable to say the least.
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