Harvardian of Montreal Hates Yale, Loves Princeton?
An "Ivy Montrealer" recently informed us of a juicy bit of hypocrisy: Canadian and McGill graduate Padraic Scanlan, whom we covered last November for penning a damning critique of Yale and other privileged American universities in the McGill Daily, is now going for his PhD in history at Princeton. To refresh everyone's memory, here are a few excerpts from Scanlan's column:
New Haven reminded me vividly of Detroit - class and race are lashed together in a widening spiral of systemic oppression in both cities. Both cities are scarred with bombed-out buildings and condemned lots. In both cities, black and Hispanic Americans are crushed by the combined weight of a decimated economy, mounting personal debt, and pervasive, systemic racism. The only difference between Detroit and New Haven is that in New Haven, Yale sits, gleaming and gated.
Likening New Haven to Detroit is legit, and surely Yale is "gleaming" compared to the city that abuts it, but saying New Haven is filled with "pervasive, systemic racism" seems, well, a bit hyperbolic. Scanlan continues:
You have to visit to really appreciate how obscene the divide is between the rich and the poor in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale is vastly wealthy - I can see now (having never actually visited an Ivy League school before) why McGill's administration slavers after the prestige and wealth of that select clique of New England universities. It is enormous, full of granite and sandstone, gleaming new electronics, and huge College Gothic piles.
One final quote by Scanlan and some commentary after the jump.
At the end of the piece Scanlan concludes that McGill is neither Harvard nor Yale, and decides that is perfectly fine because
McGill is more equal-opportunity - Yale is a mansion on a hill, Yale is a lyric in a Phil Ochs song, and Yale is a monstrosity of extreme wealth floating in a sea of poverty. McGill has problems, and inequality, and Montreal has racial and socioeconomic disparities, but at least Montreal isnt a city that physically inspires visitors to join the Communist Party.
Princeton, for those who don't know, has a higher per capita endowment than Yale or Harvard. But maybe the proletarian-cum-Ivy Leaguer justified it all because unlike Yale, Princeton is a monstrosity of extreme wealth floating in, well, the heated pool of an exclusive seaside resort.
And finally, a parting shot by our tipster: "Apparently he's only a commie when it suits. Hypocrite."
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August 17th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I remember when this first came out. He said something ridiculous about “bombed-out empty lots” and was horrified that everyone needed key cards (GASP!) to get through all of the Yale gates. Insert generic “New Haven has been gentrified; it’s really quite nice these days” protest here.
August 17th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Very nicely put, esp. the bit about “unlike Yale, Princeton is a monstrosity of extreme wealth floating in, well, the heated pool of an exclusive seaside resort.” If I ever meet him (which I doubt ‘cuz grad students rarely interact with us even though they get cheaper housing for living among undergrads) I will be sure to bring this up. I’ve never been to New Haven but if I had to be “floating in a sea of poverty”, I would definitely want to be “a monstrosity of extreme wealth.”
August 18th, 2008 at 7:45 am
This guy is ridiculous. Whether he goes to Yale, McGill, Harvard or Princeton, he will still be squandering a ton of resources that could be used for poverty relief. But he’d rather put his money into an ivy league education right now than give it to Oxfam. Not that I have anything against that. But based on his moralizing… he should. I smell a hypocrite.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Welcome to the big leagues, Padraic! At last, you are free from the constant pressure of having to prove that your institution is better than Harvard. Oh wait…
August 18th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
So the “sin” of Yale is…being surrounded by poor people. That’s right: liberal ivory tower elites want the poor out of sight, so their mansions look natural and pristine.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:15 am
scanlan could definitely have been less, well, crazy when writing what he wrote; his statements aren’t, at least in my (two visits…) experience, completely off. it’s a bit like how harvard pretended paying for students whose parents made less than 60 grand a year all of sudden was important. If a state university system—like, oh say, UC—had done that, sure, fine. But it’s Harvard (and Princeton, and whoever else—Yale, right?), who enroll what, less than an twentieth of a percent of college freshmen?
Okay, so I’ve swerving. He’s not going to inspire policy with his whining. But that doesn’t mean it’s abnormal to feel queasy about waiting around for someone to open, what, the billionth fucking gate at Yale? Not in the sense that security is bad, but in the sense that, for all the good Yale has…surely…done, it cannot even dent New Haven’s problems—and problems that it might be able to fix.
Yale, you’ve got one of the biggest endowments in the world; fucking use it.
October 17th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
matt damon!