Prestige Must Die
Anyone involved in higher education reform might recognize a very particular pattern—an “elite” university, often one of the Ivy League schools, does something inane. Reformers, usually but not exclusively conservatives, then call attention to the issue, and give it considerable press. Numerous elected officials make statements and/or issue public condemnations, and the university in question quickly tries to do damage control. Ultimately, very little truly changes. Repeat ad nauseam.
None of this is to say that these efforts are pointless—far from it. When elite universities discriminate againststudents that they do not feel are sufficiently oppressed, they need to be called out. When universities repeatedly fail to protect students from angry mobs that hate them because of their religion, they should be forced to explain themselves before Congress. And when the supposed crème de la crème of our higher education system flirts with radical ideological activism, conservatives should be ready to confront them.
But whatever the merits of this approach may be, conservative reformers heap far too much attention on a very small number of schools. Private, highly selective schools serve only about 4% of students, yet they tend to dominate the higher education reform conversation. Community colleges, regional public universities, and even many state flagship universities, all of which have far more bearing on a far greater number of Americans, garner a fraction of the scrutiny, ink, or outrage. For a movement that aims to speak to Middle America, this is a bizarre misallocation of resources. For a movement that aims to speak to Middle America, this is a bizarre misallocation of resources.
That said, it’s easy to understand the fixation. For hundreds of years, Americans of all stripes have been told that elite universities are something they should aspire to. That to be a “Harvard Man,” or to have that prestigious pedigree more broadly, means something. And, in this era of extreme political polarization, a conservative with a shiny degree is seen as someone who walked into the Labyrinth of Crete and returned home having slain the Minotaur.
