I had never before felt bounded by social class, by economics, by mother fucking money.
I remember when it hit home: I was taking a graduate seminar on Afghan Politics. After class one day, I struck up conversation with a girl sitting next to me. She asked about my background. “I used to fight forest fires,” I explained, thinking I was so cool.
Her forehead crinkled. She stopped for a second, then responded: “Oh. I didn’t know they let people like that, you know, in here.”
Wonderful. And Columbia has a $6 billion endowment[1] on which they pay absolutely NO TAX. They also recently used eminent domain to seize a portion of Harlem.[2] Columbia, Harvard, and every other elitist, non-profit-for-tax-purposes-only private university should have its tax exempt status revoked.
I actually work for Columbia and my brother graduated from their engineering school, SEAS. Now I think it's called Fu, no joke. Yes Columbia is elitist, like the other Ivys, but they do let a number of poor people in (like my brother) and give them just enough money to make it affordable with loans. Could they do better, ya I think so. But eh, what are you gonna do about it? In reality, if you are willing to become indebted to student loans and have decent grades/test scores you can get into a number of elitist institutions of higher education that will give you some sort of hardship discount.
In regards to your second point, I also happen to live just a few blocks from where that whole eminent domain thing took place. Believe me, it's quite blighted but has been on the up and up in the last 5 years or so. The handful of people who held out were operating storage facilities, gas stations and mechanics shops. One of the property owners is himself a developer developing property in Westchester. Every single one of them were offered a considerable amount of money to relocate. I've seen the plans, I've been to the meetings. Columbia will bring a ton of jobs and money to the neighborhood many, many times more than the current state of affairs. Not only that but I believe they will also be opening a grade school of some sort open to children from the area. Oh, the campus will also be focused on science and technology. You know, things that have a better ROI for society than storage bins.
They use their endowment for the public benefit. Even though Columbia is expensive the endowment does substitute education and science to an extent. It is just that the interest on 6 billion dollars is not much for a huge university that happens to be positioned in some of the most expensive real estate in the US. It definitely qualifies for a non-profit status.
Why did you choose those particular quotes? Are you saying that their tax exmpet status should be revoked because a few of their students are arrogant? While I agree with you that maybe they don't deserve tax exemption attacking the institution based on the behavior of a few students is just spiteful.
I studied at Columbia and I have to say his tales of class snobbery are a bit over the top. Me and a lot of my friends were poor and did not feel ostracized about it.
And although there were some rich kids and Saudi heiresses in class, the displays of wealth were more likely to be subject of jokes than the other way around. I remember people made fun of one girl because she took a cab to school every day (we would usually walk to school or use the subway).
In general the students in my class considered themselves progressive and enlightened so any snobbery towards poor people was very unlikely to be popular.
I think the writer had some bad luck in that he joined a program witch was considered to be a cash cow for the university so he ended up with a lot of rich kids. Although now that I think of it, my program was also to be considered a bit of a cash cow.
If there is anything wrong with the way the school treated him, it is the fact that no-one pulled him aside to tell him something like "hey kid, this program is for rich kids and financial aid will be harder to come by, so try to find something else."
As impressive as the story is - it sounds very typically American. A boring American has the normal story you know. An interesting American has this story or some variation of it - maybe immigrant parents, maybe poor childhood, maybe doing something social, maybe struggling to get into college, maybe rich friends one is jealous of. Lots of American movies I'm watched have this story.
Everyones story has a narrative that is a lot more interesting, but all the magazine reading and the movie watching you do forces your narrative into a typical down-up-down-up scheme, because it seems like that's the right story to tell.
There is that story of those African boys who ran across the savannah and some of their friends were eaten by lions. that is a non-traditional and interesting narrative. Being top in Columbia is just about standard for an american narrative.
I'm not hating on the story - but I just think that it's not that different from many stories I've read.
I think it's not the flow of the narrative as much as it is the "drama for the sake of it." I mean, the way it reads, Matt seems like the guy who came up from nothing, on food stamps and government cheese. Not some son of a professor.
I mean, I don't care where you come from, but most people mow their own lawns. That ain't hardship, in my opinion. And, his stories of being dejected for being not rich was kinda cloying, especially for someone who has done as his dad has and clawed his way out from a lower-middle working class background in a school where most people didn't mow their lawns because they didn't _have_ lawns.
That said, he did do forest fireman work. And, he was a Paramedic. That's pretty cool. In other words, it's the choices he's made that's semi-interesting, not that he was forced down those paths he chose. He has a rebellious streak, and it's discordant with his abilities and drive for achievement in school and entrepreneurship. And, I think the takeaway (at least in his eyes) is he's not some stuff-shirt stiff when he easily could be given his abilities and work ethic.
You should read The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Monomyth is the basic pattern found in most narratives regardless of location or culture.
Welll... yeah, that's why good stories are good stories; they're structured in a way that keeps you guessing. Best part about this story is that it's true, unlike the other places where I've seen this "model" used (hollywood)
I have been an entrepreneur for over fifteen years, with one mild success and a few spectacular failures. And I must say I enjoy this article more than the rest of the articles combined in terms of explaining why entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs. The reason has nothing to do with hardship, wealth or upbringing. Anyone can become an entrepreneur. You must first possess a demon deep inside that needs to get out. The author clearly has one and my own experience is that entrepreneurship is his only cure. Good luck.
[+] [-] unsignedlong|15 years ago|reply
I remember when it hit home: I was taking a graduate seminar on Afghan Politics. After class one day, I struck up conversation with a girl sitting next to me. She asked about my background. “I used to fight forest fires,” I explained, thinking I was so cool.
Her forehead crinkled. She stopped for a second, then responded: “Oh. I didn’t know they let people like that, you know, in here.”
Wonderful. And Columbia has a $6 billion endowment[1] on which they pay absolutely NO TAX. They also recently used eminent domain to seize a portion of Harlem.[2] Columbia, Harvard, and every other elitist, non-profit-for-tax-purposes-only private university should have its tax exempt status revoked.
1) http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/...
2) http://news.google.com/news/search?q=columbia+eminent+domain
[+] [-] siculars|15 years ago|reply
In regards to your second point, I also happen to live just a few blocks from where that whole eminent domain thing took place. Believe me, it's quite blighted but has been on the up and up in the last 5 years or so. The handful of people who held out were operating storage facilities, gas stations and mechanics shops. One of the property owners is himself a developer developing property in Westchester. Every single one of them were offered a considerable amount of money to relocate. I've seen the plans, I've been to the meetings. Columbia will bring a ton of jobs and money to the neighborhood many, many times more than the current state of affairs. Not only that but I believe they will also be opening a grade school of some sort open to children from the area. Oh, the campus will also be focused on science and technology. You know, things that have a better ROI for society than storage bins.
[+] [-] hristov|15 years ago|reply
They use their endowment for the public benefit. Even though Columbia is expensive the endowment does substitute education and science to an extent. It is just that the interest on 6 billion dollars is not much for a huge university that happens to be positioned in some of the most expensive real estate in the US. It definitely qualifies for a non-profit status.
[+] [-] abcxyz|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hristov|15 years ago|reply
And although there were some rich kids and Saudi heiresses in class, the displays of wealth were more likely to be subject of jokes than the other way around. I remember people made fun of one girl because she took a cab to school every day (we would usually walk to school or use the subway).
In general the students in my class considered themselves progressive and enlightened so any snobbery towards poor people was very unlikely to be popular.
I think the writer had some bad luck in that he joined a program witch was considered to be a cash cow for the university so he ended up with a lot of rich kids. Although now that I think of it, my program was also to be considered a bit of a cash cow.
If there is anything wrong with the way the school treated him, it is the fact that no-one pulled him aside to tell him something like "hey kid, this program is for rich kids and financial aid will be harder to come by, so try to find something else."
[+] [-] unohoo|15 years ago|reply
>> In 2007, I acquired a girlfriend
[+] [-] trafficlight|15 years ago|reply
I believe that's how the meme goes.
[+] [-] tommynazareth|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] araneae|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nl|15 years ago|reply
I'm sure there is a reason for this. I think it's an interesting approach, and it certainly gains attention.
[+] [-] tommynazareth|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] maxklein|15 years ago|reply
Everyones story has a narrative that is a lot more interesting, but all the magazine reading and the movie watching you do forces your narrative into a typical down-up-down-up scheme, because it seems like that's the right story to tell.
There is that story of those African boys who ran across the savannah and some of their friends were eaten by lions. that is a non-traditional and interesting narrative. Being top in Columbia is just about standard for an american narrative.
I'm not hating on the story - but I just think that it's not that different from many stories I've read.
[+] [-] muhfuhkuh|15 years ago|reply
I think it's not the flow of the narrative as much as it is the "drama for the sake of it." I mean, the way it reads, Matt seems like the guy who came up from nothing, on food stamps and government cheese. Not some son of a professor.
I mean, I don't care where you come from, but most people mow their own lawns. That ain't hardship, in my opinion. And, his stories of being dejected for being not rich was kinda cloying, especially for someone who has done as his dad has and clawed his way out from a lower-middle working class background in a school where most people didn't mow their lawns because they didn't _have_ lawns.
That said, he did do forest fireman work. And, he was a Paramedic. That's pretty cool. In other words, it's the choices he's made that's semi-interesting, not that he was forced down those paths he chose. He has a rebellious streak, and it's discordant with his abilities and drive for achievement in school and entrepreneurship. And, I think the takeaway (at least in his eyes) is he's not some stuff-shirt stiff when he easily could be given his abilities and work ethic.
[+] [-] pkaler|15 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth
[+] [-] rradu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dennykmiu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DanielN|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] markstansbury|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mvalle|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rradu|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nl|15 years ago|reply