On the first day of classes at NYU, my literature professor opened the course saying “You know, you guys are just paying to be in the bourgeoisie, right?” Everyone in the class nodded their heads and engaged in discussions surrounding Lenin, Marx, Engels and other famous leftist figures. The consensus of the discourse was that classism and capitalism were the roots of most evils in modern society, and that they must be dismantled.

I could not help but laugh at the contrast of the discussion to the number of Goyard and Hermès bags on the other students’ desks. I admit, I gained a superiority complex with my $5 Target tote bag on that first day.

I pondered whether my peers really lacked the self-awareness to identify that they are actively contributing to these capitalistic ideas. I created a false wall between them and me. I believed that I was walking the walk, actively reflecting on how each decision I made or word I spoke contributed to the collective of the ideology war.

After sharing my views with my friends who did not continue their higher education due to financial reasons — just like 42% of other highschool graduates — I was rightly put in my place. My ability to notice these hypocrisies was due to the fact that I had the privilege to be in that room, the privilege to have enough spare time to read theory and the privilege to move across the country by choice. A study conducted in 2017 by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators showed that most colleges were not affordable for eight out of 10 high school graduates. My own privilege had blinded me from the realities of who actually has access to higher education, something that not all my friends have.

Identifying as a proletariat, communist or socialist is hard when you are attending a college that costs more than $58,000 annually if you pay full price. While NYU gives generous financial aid to much of its student body, those without it adopt left-wing ideologies, but not ideals. However, many of my peers and the professors I had met at NYU claimed these titles. Some were even actively involved in the Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter at NYU. How could this be? Was it all performative? I, myself, believe that healthcare should be free, that private property is wrong and that unions are essential, but I was gifted a Louis Vuitton bag for graduating high school. The bottom line was my ideals did not match my identity. My choice to separate myself from my peers with Goyard and Hermès bags and no student debt was a privilege in itself.

According to a study reported by The New York Times, 62% of the student body at NYU comes from the top 20% of median family income, while only 3.6% of its scholars are able to use the opportunity for upward mobility. While the statistics of this article are insightful when analyzing the demographic disparity of the institution, the nature of this article also supports the capitalistic idea that the ultimate goal is to distance oneself from being lower-class. Instead of fighting for social programs and class equality, we should only fight to save the lower-class intellects. The inequality that is shoved in the face of New Yorkers daily is almost impossible to ignore but the social sentiment that they are not intellects is often used to normalize this economic abuse.

Attending a university is a great way to start finding yourself and understanding the society we devote our illusions to. Hell, the entirety of your 20s are. We are beginning to evolve our senses of identity to fit our ideals. Yet, the contradictory nature of this within class hierarchy cannot and should not be ignored. Accepting your place in society does not necessarily mean you need to adhere to the social norms of that class.

Privilege provides opportunity. This opportunity can either be used for self-growth or a voice for the collective. It’s time to put our money where our mouths are and use our benefits to listen to the working class. We need to become allies to them instead of preaching false senses of moral high ground in the classroom.

WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.

Contact Caitie Drucker at [email protected].