Social Justice at Ivies

[Happytimes2001]

@calmom One has to decide how to live their own life. True, some go into low paying jobs working for non-profits and others make a lot of money and give back as well. One is not morally superior to another. As we really cannot see the fullness of how others live.
In my mind the Zuckerbergers recent 75 million dollar gift to San Francisco’s hospital would increase social justice by a lot ( esp if I am poor, sick, homeless and have no health insurance). There are others for whom only what they do or value matters.
Personally, I respect all life choices. The non-profit worker and the major philanthropist.

[Mastadon]

@privatebanker - I found that interesting as well. They appeared at the distictive level one year and did not place at any level the other two years (other schools tended to hang at a level or bounce between two levels), but that is still better than a number of private schools here in the Northeast… Perception tends to be relative, so maybe the smaller number of private schools in Ca. skews perceptions…

[calmom]

In my mind the Zuckerbergers recent 75 million dollar gift to San Francisco’s hospital would increase social justice by a lot ( esp if I am poor, sick, homeless and have no health insurance

I don’t know what the OP meant by “social justice” … but by my understanding of the term, a $75 million gift to a hospital has nothing whatsoever to do with social justice. It’s charity … assuming that is meant to allow the hospital to treat people who have no insurance.

In my mind, “social justice” would be single-payer health coverage for everyone. The “justice” part comes from the concept that health care is deemed a right and an entitlement, rich or poor – and no one has to worry about whether they have insurance.

I’m not trying to debate pros and cons, but the concept of “social justice” is not the same as charitable giving or good works.

So now, the $75 million dollar gift to a hospital doesn’t seem to me like it does anything at all for “social justice.” That’s not to say it’s a bad thing – but it doesn’t change the status quo in any way.

[lookingforward]

Likewise, Peace Corps or Fulbright aren’t necessarily going to involve one in social justice.

[Mastadon]

@nocreativity1, @lookingforward -

Here is where the subtlety comes in.

I would argue that what really matters is the motivation behind the action.

Competing for prestige is not really pursuing social justice.

Recruiting for Teach for America was modeled after consulting companies and investment banks (i.e. a competition for prestige) it is often viewed as a resume builder and a stepping stone to a prestigous grad school or career. McKinsey targets the pool of Teach for America grads. Fulbright is often viewed as a prestigous academic award, not social justice experience. The Peace Corps is an imperfect proxy (as all proxies are) but I think it is much better than TFA or Fulbright.

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/3/25/wendy-kopp-talks-tfa/
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/education/12winerip.html

The tricky part is that two different schools can view the same award in different ways.

I think it is an interesting exercise to compare the anoucement of the Fulbright winners for two types of schools, one Ivy League (Brown) and one non Ivy League (Tufts). Both are considered rather liberal, and they share some cultural aspects. The cultures are still different though, and that is reflected in how each views the Fulbright.

Brown

Thirty-nine Brown students and recent graduates earned the prestigious U.S. State Department grant to teach or conduct research abroad during the 2017-18 year.

“That Brown for the second consecutive year is the top-producing Fulbright school for the U.S. student program underscores the alignment of the values and commitments that Brown and Fulbright foster: intellectual courage, exploration, independence and global engagement,” said Linda Dunleavy, associate dean of the College for fellowships.

“The Fulbright emphasizes intellectual ambassadorship between countries,

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 370,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential

https://news.brown.edu/articles/2018/02/fulbright

Tufts

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

Tufts students’ continued success in the Fulbright program speaks to their dedication to excellence, critical inquiry and civic engagement, all of which are pillars of a Tufts education.

“Tufts’ success in the Fulbright program is a credit to our strong international orientation and our commitment to civic values and public service.”

https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/tufts-university-top-producer-fulbright-students-2017-18

Tufts/non Ivies clearly don’t understand that the Fulbright is meant to be an intellectual exercise, not an act of civic engagement

[lookingforward]

Well, the Fulbright is intended as an “international ambassadorship,” not merely an educational opportunity. Sounds to me like both statements are what they are: PR.

The Fulbright is not simply an intellectual exercise or exchange. “The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”

There are F kids whose work will be what I see as SJ. And plenty where it won’t. D1 was expected to do some community interface work. It has zip to do with social justice. It was more about the presence of an American, that perspective and encouragement. DH was not expected to be as active, but to engage and for lack of a better word, represent.

[skieurope]

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. The OP is long gone and the thread has gone off the rails.