Harvard Elitism and more...

Harry Lewis, former dean of Harvard wrote, "the university has had its head turned ever more by consumerism and big public relations imperatives, to the detriment of its educational priorities for its students. In short, money and prestige rule over principle and reason." I couldn't agree more.

Ever heard of the expression, "the man?" It is often used like, "the man is keeping me down" or "we must fight the man." Harvard is the institution that creates, "the man" the status quo, the standard.

I recently read an article by a Harvard MBA grad, he argues that Harvard students are more hard-working and overachievers than others and it is for this reason that "Harvard DNA" is so many powerful positions, such as two presidents, supreme court judges, filmmakers, authors, leaders of companies. Yet could the reason for all this crimson blood flowing in the upper reaches of America, not be because they are so much more superior to the rest of us Cretans but because they keep it in the family. Perhaps it is all a good ole' boy's network, it wouldn't be the first time no? Even the MBA kid pointed out that networking is so incredibly important to the Harvard name that all business school students are encouraged to get business cards, complete with the Harvard stamp, in their first semester of the program.

Why am I writing about all of this, because I am outraged by that twit of an Indian girl (thanks again for besmirching our names, you ninny!). This oh-so superior Harvard sophomore that already had a book deal before entering the school is like me, an Indian kid raised in America. It has come to be found out that portions of her book have been plagiarized.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12521477/from/RSS/

I am galled - I can't stand kids like her. They want all the praise and accolades but don’t want to do the work. I am sure she smugly told all her classmates about her book deal, in a pseudo-attempt at being modest. I can see it now, someone is talking about applying to school or some achievement they just had and she goes, "oh that is just like when I was writing my book and my agent and publisher were pushing me to finish." Naturally this is going to pique one's curiosity and our little glory-hound would have been able to unload all about herself and her little book deal.

Additionally what bothers me most is that this girl is Indian. I know her type, we had family friends who are her type. I couldn't stand them when I was forced to hangout at gatherings and I can't stand them now. They have this unnatural competitive streak and getting a book deal at such a young age would have made her family head and shoulders above all the other kids in the community, as if getting a book deal somehow makes one a better human being. What kind of priorities is this that having a book published puts you ahead in some non-spoken competition rather than seeing the character of the person? You can tell this Indian girl is from this group of people, because she has yet to apologize properly to the author of the books she ripped off. To this Indian kid, all's fair in love and war, she was just trying to get ahead.

It is this crazy competitiveness to which Harvard thrives, probably many of the kids who go to school there are like this Indian girl, very aggressive, believing by being the head of something, or top of something, makes you a better person, superior to your fellow man. But it doesn't, and yet Harvard continues to nurture these baby Einsteins, because to an institution having all these "successes" does make you a better place. To Harvard, which graduated George Bush and Elizabeth Dole, it is all about who you know, "self-promotion," a show-offness and lack of humility that is treasured and valued. And yet how sad when human beings worth is being measured by the same standards as a cold stone establishment.