In the June 8 issue of the Wall Street Journal, an article appeared titled, "Campus Currency: At Elite Universities, A Culture of Money Highlights Class Divide." The author chose Duke University to illustrate his point.
I read the article with great interest as the writer, Jonathan Kaufman, pointed out something that most Dukies hardly ever think about--not everyone is as financially fortunate as they are. Kaufman revealed the facts about campus life that are not prominent in Duke's viewbooks or incorporated into the regular campus tour--mainly that on average students spend $825 on "non-academic discretionary items such as eating out, movies, clothes and CDs" and that Duke has the worst "economic diversity" among the elite colleges. For all the pompousness we like to attribute to the top Ivy League schools, there are fewer kids here at Duke who come from poor or lower middle-class households than at Harvard according to the article.
Of course, to anyone who's quickly surveyed the Blue Zone's tapestry of luxury vehicles none of this is news.
But is there anything that can be done to alleviate the effects of this class divide?
I honestly don't think there is; on this issue, I don't think that much substantial criticism can be levied against the Duke administration.
For example, the writer made mention of Duke's unique housing situation: "Prices range from $3,200 a year for the one-bedroom apartmentÉ share[d] with a roommate to $6,200 for an air-conditioned single room in a more central location," Kaufman wrote.
But is that really so unreasonable? Sure, we complain about the frats hogging up the best housing options, but a Main West Campus lined with Greek letters or even selective living groups will soon be a legend of the past, much like Thursday night kegs or the Hideaway. And even this move seems to result more from the University's changing opinion of fraternities than from an attempt to increase fairness in housing assignments. Finally, Trent Drive Hall is being phased out, the West-Edens Link is currently under construction and the long-term future of Central Campus is being examined.
Still, even without these latest changes, the realities of campus living arrangements were, and still are, handled in a rather fair manner. One can hardly think of a more even-handed approach to housing than a randomized lottery process that gives students options to block with their friends and to freely choose from housing locations available to them when they pick. Moreover, as they advance in their Duke careers, most students end up with progressively better housing. I admit that there is some luck involved in such a progression and that, of course, those who are not as lucky are instead gifted with the Trent experience. But whenever I sat down and attempted to think up a better solution that could satisfy everyone, I failed.
In light of all this, I am skeptical that there is a better and more realistic solution to minimizing the class divide's influence on campus housing than the one Assistant Dean of Housing Assignments Bill Burig and his staff struggle with each year. Clearly housing in Trent is not as desirable or as valuable as the dorm rooms on Main West; Central Campus also has its disadvantages, all of which affect the price of the apartments located there.
Charging students more for air-conditioned rooms also seems natural. If anything, it should be noted that air conditioning cannot simply be requested on an individual room basis, provided it's not accompanied by a doctor's note. I'm not sure what the exact purpose behind this policy is, but I can see its effects: A pair of wealthy roommates cannot pay extra for air conditioning while their next-door neighbor has to sweat it out in September because the additional cost of air conditioning presents a significant financial burden. And since single rooms cost the University more money in terms of maintenance and building costs, basic economics dictate that they cost more. Even beyond that, would it be fair for students to pay the same amount of money for a triple-occupancy room in the basement of Trent compared to a single room in House C, as the two rooms are obviously unequal in value?
A broad liberal arts education is supposed to be a matter of four years of choice and the housing situation certainly appears to have been engineered to emphasize just that--choice. That not everyone gets or can afford their top choice is, I hate to say it, to be expected. We can't all live in 330 sq. foot doubles on Main West, but much has been done to make sure that ability to pay is not the only determining factor in housing assignments. Regardless of what you may think of the way fraternities and selective houses admit their members, you cannot "buy" your way onto Main West Campus. And that comes close enough to fairness for my tastes.
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