24
Discrimination in science and elite education
We read with interest William Deresiewicz’s article on The Disadvantages of an Elite Education on the American Scholar website. Deresiewicz exposes the shocking truth that there are in fact negative aspects of the culture of elite American universities, and “the last thing an elite education will teach you is its own inadequacy.” He writes perceptively about class discrimination and anti-intellectualism in Ivy League universities.
This sounds far removed from diversity in science. But we keep thinking about it, because there are parallels between the culture of American science and American elite universities. Really this is not so surprising: the vast majority of science faculty at US research universities have worked at an elite university as a student or postdoc. So perhaps the similarities in the culture are related. Perhaps the scientific culture reflects the university culture.
What aspects of the culture are we thinking of? Mainly the entitlement.
From orientation to graduation, the message is implicit in every tone of voice and tilt of the head, every old-school tradition, every article in the student paper, every speech from the dean. The message is: You have arrived. Welcome to the club. And the corollary is equally clear: You deserve everything your presence here is going to enable you to get.
This means that people outside the club are less valuable, less worthy human beings. Because people in the club are more valuable, they deserve to be treated generously.
There are due dates and attendance requirements at places like Yale, but no one takes them very seriously. . . . [S]tudents at places like Yale get an endless string of second chances. Not so at places like Cleveland State. My friend once got a D in a class in which she’d been running an A because she was coming off a waitressing shift and had to hand in her term paper an hour late.
By making it to the elite university, you get taken care of. You don’t need to do well, you just need to be there.
Elite schools nurture excellence, but they also nurture what a former Yale graduate student I know calls “entitled mediocrity.” A is the mark of excellence; A- is the mark of entitled mediocrity. It’s another one of those metaphors, not so much a grade as a promise. It means, don’t worry, we’ll take care of you. You may not be all that good, but you’re good enough.
This strikes us as quite similar to the casual sexism and racism of many scientists. The often unspoken assumption is that because women and racial minorities aren’t scientists in large numbers, they aren’t worthy or deserving enough to be scientists.
Mediocre white male scientists are supported because they look like insiders. They know the system, they fit in. They are automatically considered “qualified.” When you hear professors complain about having to consider diversity when making decisions about faculty hiring, or grad student admissions, realize that they are supporting entitled mediocrity. The white men they favor are of course better, because they are part of the club.