<p>One wonders what lessons are taught through economic diversity if the diversifiers arrive with chips on their shoulders like Fitzsimmons recalls he had.</p>
<p>Not long after Fitzsimmons arrival in Cambridge, I arrived at a like place from probably equally modest financial circumstances. Instead of being appalled by my classmates, I was thrilled to be among them. I find his choice of adjective appalling. He could have described himself as “stunned”, but I assume he remembers his feelings accurately. I suspect he feels the same way today. </p>
<p>It seems as though the class envy we see at affluent high schools where many teachers resent the students driving to school in nicer cars than theirs is alive and well on the faculty and staff of the elites. </p>
<p>Whether much of this forced diversification should be part of the mission of Harvard or any other educational institution is a serious question. As institutions raise the “priviledge rectification” plank of their platforms, balancing the benefits of it with the actual costs will be a challenge.</p>