I saw a video not too long ago of the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement. The video showed a large crowd of people storming Wall Street with signs condemning capitalists and billionaires. On the balconies lining Wall Street were bankers and stockbrokers in their fancy suits, sipping champagne, taking videos and laughing behind the safety of the railing. I found it absurd: absurd that a person could be on the balcony and laugh rather than feel pity for the commoners or, if not pity, at least some shame. However, students at top institutions — Brown included — are like those on the balcony. And if that sounds absurd, it is because the elitism is hard to see when you yourself are on the balcony.
In the Occupy Wall Street movement, commoners and elites were separated by wealth. An analogous situation plagues higher education: rather than wealth, academic ability separates commoners from elites. The common response to this would be that academic talent, unlike wealth, is earned through hard work, so taking pride in it is not harmful or elitist. However, this is an incomplete assessment of the situation. Privileged students at Brown too often do not recognize that their academic talents were, to an extent, given to them through their socioeconomic status. This breeds academic elitism that undermines Brown’s mission of serving the nation.
This elitism can be understood given how central academic ability is to the average Brown student’s identity. Students at Brown are proud of their academic achievements. After all, it was through long hours of studying and grinding extracurricular activities during high school that brought us here. Naturally, people will bond over this shared experience. However, not all shared experiences should necessarily be bonded over.
Consider a shared experience we can bond over — culture. Bonding over culture can help historically oppressed people to stand up against oppressors. Admittedly, there is exclusivity inherent in bonding over shared experiences, but this exclusivity is permitted because there is a benefit: it can empower the oppressed. However, there is little benefit in bonding over academic ability: to bond over academic ability would be to empower privileged intellects against the less privileged. To bond over weakness is to fight inequality, and to bond over privilege is to fuel it.
Yet another reason to avoid bonding over academic ability becomes clear when we consider that, academic abilities are heavily influenced by one’s upbringing. Take, for example, the correlation between SAT scores and socioeconomic status: with more money, parents can hire SAT tutors and live in affluent neighborhoods with better-funded high schools, all of which contribute to higher scores. However, money does not just buy a high score; it buys academic ability too. This might not be immediately apparent. Perhaps this is because academic ability feels more internal and inherent. But have you considered that part of the reason you are good at studying is because your parents bought you the resources to show you how? That you survived organic chemistry because expensive tutors taught you how?
One could argue that if not an SAT score or academic ability, the willingness to study is truly inherent and that it is something one can take pride in. But even willingness is partly built from privilege. Imagine trying to compete in Science Olympiad at a high school where the team is underfunded, small and unmotivated. Now imagine competing at a nationally-ranked high school where everyone is fighting for a spot on the prestigious Science Olympiad roster, where membership is publicized almost like a status symbol. An environment like that creates willingness to study by incentivizing it as a way to fit in and earn glory.
Brown’s mission statement says that we are “to serve the community, the nation and the world.” It is hard to serve a community when you draw a line between yourself and others on the basis of your academic elitism. For the sake of our society’s health, we should move towards divorcing from our privilege and finding glory in other things.
So, what should Brown students do once they recognize their privilege? They should resist bonding over academic ability. Maybe stop glorifying that job at J.P. Morgan. Maybe, when you graduate law school, avoid the glamor of Big Law and start a career in litigation advocacy. Maybe don't sell your soul to Big Tech for a job just because people view it highly. The glory that comes with an offer from Facebook or J.P. Morgan is desirable partly because it guarantees continuation of the elite status that fades after our years at Brown end.
Intelligence is a powerful tool. It allows you to understand complex situations and to navigate the world elegantly, giving you an upper hand against others. Intelligence is a commodity that should not be held exclusively by a few elites. Like how it is wrong for the rich to keep the rich rich, it is wrong for the intelligent to keep the intelligent intelligent. But it can be difficult to notice when you just see it as bonding with people who have shared experiences. Like I said, it is difficult to notice the elitism when you are on the balcony yourself.
Daniel Cheong ’27 can be reached at daniel_cheong@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
