Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
“One of the more embarrassing and socially awkward things a human being can do is admit he went to Harvard” according to Business Insider:
That’s right, it’s probably among the worst #FirstWorldProblems a person can have, because once you drop the “H-Bomb” people look at you differently, treat you differently, and think of you differently. Yup, Harvard alumni are truly embarrassed about fessing up to their alma mater, The Boston Globe revealed…
The Globe interviewed dozens of alumni who all admit when asked some derivative of “Where did you go to college?” they answer, “Oh, near Boston.”
Harvard, for its part, is taking steps to prevent the social indiscretion of taking about Harvard publicly with the unwashed masses. This week, in fact, the university is holding the following event:
Home from Harvard for the Holidays: Revisiting Relationships with Family and Friends
Wednesday, December 5, 1:00-2:30pm
5 Linden Street
How do I talk about Harvard at home? Will my friends and family think I’ve changed? Will I still fit in? This workshop provides an opportunity to describe and explore your experiences and questions as you anticipate going home. To register, email slshin@bsc.harvard.edu or cshindler@bsc.harvard.edu.
Is Harvard acknowledging that its students, upon being admitted into the hallowed crimson kingdom, become so socially inept that they require workshop assistance to socialize with their non-Harvard friends and family? Or is this event a tacit endorsement of the assumption, which embarrasses Harvard students and alumni so, that they really are better than and different from the rest of us? Either way, the elitism that underlies this event is just hilarious, given its stilted effort to be empathic to what the University probably considers the unannointed hoi polloi.
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Mar '11
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
Barkha Herman: They are #1 in the world. They deserve it.
In Indian families, friends and families ARE embarrassing when it comes to a kid going to Harvard. It's unbearable.
I for one sympathize. · 1 hour ago
Hmm...
Harvard Gives Official Recognition to S&M Sex Club
...are we discussing the same institution?
Envy of the world...
Edited on December 4, 2012 at 6:35pmMar '12
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
As a grad of a small university in New Haven (not Albertus Magnus), the public seems to have a negative perception of the Ivy League. It is assumed that if you went "Ivy" you are part of the 1%. This may have been true 60 years ago, but is hardly true today. Still, the perception lingers. So, many alums will downplay their alma mater. Those who obnoxiously drop the H, Y, P, etc name only reinforce the negative perception.
DocJay's comment, "In addition, prove to me you're not a liberal moron." is also an example of the reaction many Ivy League grads are trying to avoid.
May '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I suppose I don't really believe what I'm about to suggest, but: this makes me wonder if the Ivy League's overwhelming liberal attitudes are based partly on a kind of peremptory defense -- for we all know if any of those institutions were elitist and conservative, the persecution from the chattering classes would never cease.
Nov '11
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I never tell people I went to Harvard.
Feb '12
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I like how Terry Pratchett described that phase of history:
Sep '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I'm tired of hearing about someone's alma mater decades after graduation. It doesn't matter if it's Harvard or ('round here) UCLA/USC axis. It shouldn't come up in conversation that often. I don't care about your school. What have you done in the real world? So you were a student once. Big deal. Grow up!
Schools want to make sure you are constantly reminded of where you graduated so you'll give them money. I understand that, while I don't indulge it. As adults, folks should move on.
This is part of the infantilization of people in their 20s and beyond. Want to stay on mommy and daddy's health plan? Not a problem under Obamacare. I know several people c. 30 who are still trying to find themselves. It's even more more pathetic to hear some guy in his 40s or 50s talk about his school. It's been decades, man. Don't you have any accomplishments since then? Guess not. You must have peaked early.
Rant over. I'm not this cranky all the time, honest - only most of the time.
Oct '12
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I went to West Point and Harvard. West Point was far and away the better education. Harvard, a liberal school, tried to teach me WHAT to think. West Point, a highly structured military school, actually tried to teach me HOW to think.
Sep '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
Apparently, you can run, but you can't hide:
Aug '12
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
So I didn't go to an Ivy (State R1 school), but I did get my PhD. There is a thin line between fake modesty, real modesty, and bragging. I can't really avoid mentioning it because my business card says "assistant professor" which usually implies PhD - what follows is some awkward "wow, you must be really smart" comments, followed by "what do you teach," followed by "so what do you think about x, y, and z." I don't mind -I like talking about what I teach, and I like talking about most x's, y's, and z's, but I also like talking about last night's Castle, the beauty of the Duchess of Cambridge, and the annoyance of today's rain. That usually waits until the second conversation.
I put my pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. The PhD did not render me nobility.
Aug '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I wonder if Sabrdance would include "RPG edition wars" to his list of things he likes talking about.
Jul '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I live in flyover country and never meet anyone that went to Harvard. A few people I know have gone there, but I haven't seen them since they left. We've got a few Yalies.
The phenomenon described here is part of what fuels the so-called "liberal white guilt." They feel bad because they're so much better than everyone around them.
For my part, I never attended class there and cannot speak to the atmosphere. I didn't attend an elite college, but everyone I knew in school (and I knew just about everyone, enrollment was just over 1,900) was competent and an able problem-solver.
It took a long time and many awkward office politics moments to figure out that everyone does not fit those two descriptions, particularly the second. Not only that, they don't have any interest in trying to improve unless it comes from an order handed down from on high.
I'm not judging, some of these people are friends. Unfortunately, they'll never know how much power they hold.
Sep '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
That's what happens when the golden calf mingles with the fattedcalf.
#wearenotworthysodonttaxuslikeweare
Edited on December 4, 2012 at 8:21pmAug '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
USAFA here and I concur with your assessment of service academies.
Harvard called the house to get my eldest to apply and we told them that the inevitable personality changes associated with the ascension to Harvard made it an unattractive choice.
Nice avatar.
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
Good find, EM.
For Yale grads the typical response is "In Connecticut"
Harvard, like any big name school, has more than its share of hacks, wannabes, posers, preeners, and jerks. For the sake of this thread and our own good times, let's focus on those people.
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
Yes! We're all waiting for the book 50 Shades of Crimson to be written so it can join that fine lineup.
May '12
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
First off I'd like to start by saying that they are better than "us", on average. Second, we all compare our achievements in life with others, the moment they are mentioned. It doesn't matter what school you went to, if someone mentions they went somewhere "lower" than your school, the comparison is immediate. Anyone who claims they don't compare, is lying.
Third, the comparison isn't without merit. On average, these people do tend to achieve more and be smarter. The fact that it bothers the "rest of us" so much, is an indication of implicit acknowledgment. The question is, why does it bother "the rest of us" so much?
Dec '11
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
Class resentments due to the head start rich kids get in the mechanics of our meritocracy.
AIG: First off I'd like to start by saying that they are better than "us", on average. Second, we all compare our achievements in life with others, the moment they are mentioned. It doesn't matter what school you went to, if someone mentions they went somewhere "lower" than your school, the comparison is immediate. Anyone who claims they don't compare, is lying.
Third, the comparison isn't without merit. On average, these people do tend to achieve more and be smarter. The fact that it bothers the "rest of us" so much, is an indication of implicit acknowledgment. The question is, why does it bother "the rest of us" so much? · 7 minutes ago
Jul '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I like to tell people I went to Heckwith University in Frostbite Falls, MN.
Then see if they catch the reference.
Oct '10
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
I actually sympathize. Early in my career I found it incredibly awkward whenever the subject of my alma mater came up. Some immediately assumed I was an elitist snob and made snap judgments about me simply because they hated their image of the school. Others became so fascinated in the fact that I went to the school, way over-inflating its importance to who I am or where I really learned my skills.
Oct '12
Re: Why Are Harvard People So Awkwardly Elitist?
Never ask a man if he's from Texas. If he is, he'll tell you, if not, you don't want to embarrass him. ;)