In the Revisionist History podcast "Food Fight", Malcolm Gladwell examines two colleges, Vassar and Bowdoin, to determine what is of greatest importance in higher education. Bowdoin College seems to believe food of high important, its dining hall being characterized by "Fresh rosemary and a personal touch", as Gladwell says. Vassar College, on the other hand, is more focused on helping poorer students to receive a decent education.
Gladwell comes to the conclusion that Vassar College made the better "moral" decision in deciding to put so much effort into helping smart, low-income students attend college; he feels Bowdoin made an immoral and "absurd" decision to put better food and other luxuries above educating poorer students.
I simply must agree with Gladwell in this respect. I would love if colleges all served gourmet meals, but it isn't worth taking possible financial aid out of a school's budget. When fresh food is weighed against allowing someone to receive a college education, education wins. …show more content…
This notion of putting luxuries before aid is hugely important in shaping a college. Those high-income students who attend Vassar, or any other college that puts aid first, must decide that they will do with less to give others more.
When students make the opposite decision, to put helping others after the comforts they want, they also affect the atmosphere of their college. Even after college, perceptions of aid and luxury matter. Students who care only about themselves became people who care only about themselves. Students who care about others become people who care about others.
As colleges put the needs of poor kids behind everyone else, they are affecting the world around them, reinforcing divisions of class, giving students, staff, and alumni the idea that wealth is more important than
Gladwell comes to the conclusion that Vassar College made the better "moral" decision in deciding to put so much effort into helping smart, low-income students attend college; he feels Bowdoin made an immoral and "absurd" decision to put better food and other luxuries above educating poorer students.
I simply must agree with Gladwell in this respect. I would love if colleges all served gourmet meals, but it isn't worth taking possible financial aid out of a school's budget. When fresh food is weighed against allowing someone to receive a college education, education wins. …show more content…
This notion of putting luxuries before aid is hugely important in shaping a college. Those high-income students who attend Vassar, or any other college that puts aid first, must decide that they will do with less to give others more.
When students make the opposite decision, to put helping others after the comforts they want, they also affect the atmosphere of their college. Even after college, perceptions of aid and luxury matter. Students who care only about themselves became people who care only about themselves. Students who care about others become people who care about others.
As colleges put the needs of poor kids behind everyone else, they are affecting the world around them, reinforcing divisions of class, giving students, staff, and alumni the idea that wealth is more important than