Okay. Ya’ll aren’t going to like this. Hey, it’s a bitter pill. But it needs to be said – maybe not for your enjoyment, but at least for my sanity. I mean, that’s the purpose of this column, right? Of course it is. While I prefer writing “garbagey” columns – yes, I read the comments – that are composed of the perfect mixture of Facebook, self-deprecation and references to Plex (everyone take a shot), I feel like this is something on which nobody wants to put their name. So I’ll take one for the team and put my name on it. You’re welcome.
Everyone here at Northwestern is smart, sure. But what has left the greatest impression on me over the past three years is not the intelligence of my peers but rather the fact that a disturbing number of the undergrads at NU seem to fall into the entitlement generation stereotypes that young adults our age have been labeled with. Compared with the middle- and working-class kids I went to high school with, students here seem to come off as less mature and rational – which is ironic since we generally consider ourselves to be slotted for the leadership positions of tomorrow – and I would attribute that to the child-like sense of privilege with which a lot of us grew up. In short, there are days when it’s hard to find people at NU who are grounded and, as good ol’ Montanans love to say, down to earth. And I would venture to assume that the situation at most other upper tier schools is similar.
I’m taking a required Sociology class right now – a subject that generally doesn’t float my boat – but a few weeks ago we talked about the whole entitlement idea and how the children of “elite” families grow up with – dare I say it – a little too much of it. When we don’t get what we want, we become defensive and uncompromising. In class, at work, in friendships: We feel entitled to the best. When we don’t get the grade we think we deserve, we fight the TAs and nag the professors until they give it to us. When we start at a new job, we feel like we are above menial, entry level tasks. We jockey with our friends for dominance like a bunch of alpha dogs who put self above all else.
And all these things are fine in moderation. I’m not going to pretend that I’ve never asked for a re-grade, protested unfair treatment at work or been otherwise socially self-absorbed. I mean, obviously I feel entitled to force my written opinions on you every week, for instance. But there is a line between being assertive and being inflexible. As products of the “everyone gets a trophy” upbringing that most of us had, we all too often park ourselves in the “I deserve nothing less than the best” category when compromise is really the word of the hour.
And once we get out into the real world, this feeling of entitlement is really more of a liability than anything else. Nobody wants to hire some kid who comes off as spoiled and self-important. Not to mention, when mum and dad aren’t there to hold our hands anymore, we just simply can’t expect to get everything we want. Entitlement makes it hard for us to accept failure with grace and to really see ourselves critically.
In the 2007 Harvard commencement speech, Bill Gates cautiously addressed the entitlement issue, saying, “When you consider what those of us here in this Yard have been given – in talent, privilege, and opportunity – there is almost no limit to what the world has a right to expect from us.” And he is right. Most of us have already been given more than any person has the right to expect, and now the challenge is to prove that these privileges haven’t suffocated our sense of compromise and empathy.
I know a ton of great people at NU; people who are bright, fun, well-adjusted, empathetic human beings. So this little tirade shouldn’t be taken as a generalization. Not everyone at this school is from an elite family, nor is everyone expecting favor and privilege to be handed to them on the proverbial silver platter. But it’s hard to ignore that a frustratingly large number of people here seem to call shotgun regardless of merit. And entitlement isn’t a good look on anybody.
Check yourself before you wreck yourself, kids. I don’t mean to sound preachy or bitchy or all that jazz, and maybe that’s how this will come off. But if it makes you think, then I’ve done my job. So there you have it. Queue the harsh comments because I would expect nothing less from the entitlement generation.
Samantha Booth is a Medill junior. She can be reached at [email protected].
