AS I stood in a circle with the other members of my new suite during fall orientation, it appeared as though the University's promises about diversity were true. While we were playing an ice breaking game in which a person would step forward in response to statements describing them, it became clear that my RA group came from a wide of variety of backgrounds. When my RA stated, "I came to U.Va from another country," several people stepped forward. A few others did the same in response to the statement, "I came from a majority non-white high school." At least one of us stepped forward in response to every statement until my RA said, "I am the first member of my family to attend college." As we all stood motionless, it became clear that this statement described none of us.
This situation is all too typical on Grounds these days, as the University represents one of a growing number of institutions in which the student body is primarily composed of student from economically advantaged backgrounds. While there are steps that the administration cantake to address the economic composition of the student body, the University, along with most other institutions in the country, will never fulfill its mission of being a tool for social mobility until the country's fundamental inequalities of opportunity are addressed.
There is currently no doubting the fact that the student body is primarily drawn from the most prosperous families of Virginia. Indeed, the often-cited study by USA Today stated that 58 percent of the student body come from families with incomes greater than $100,000, while 20 percent comes from families with incomes greater than $200,000. These figures show the fact that the University is not representative of the economic makeup of society at large. One implication of this economic homogeneity is that it directly affects the quality of education at the University. Indeed, this situation creates a bubble in which University students are not exposed to the realities of American culture. Because of this, the social atmosphere at the University becomes highly slanted toward the point of view of only a very small segment of society. This unrealistic point of view hinders the quality of education at the University by decreasing the variety of student perspectives and giving University students an unrealistic preparation for the outside world.
In addition, the University's lack of economic variance also causes it to fail in its mission to act as a force for social advancement. This ultimately hurts society as a whole through hardening economic divisions, while also causing society to lose out to output that would be created by the massive number of people who could have attended the University if not for major economic barriers.
With all of this in mind, there are certainly a few steps that the University has taken, and could potentially take steps to alleviate this problem. A positive first step in this regard is the new financial aid program Access U.Va. As Carol Wood, University spokesperson said,"Our founder's original intention -- which continues to inspire us -- was to build 'a system of general education, which shall reach every description of our citizens from the richest to the poorest.' Access U.Va is an extension of his original vision." While this is animportant step in making the University more financially accessible, more substantive efforts must be made to truly address this issue. Indeed, while the University does currently incorporate applicants' economic background into the admissions process, it should increase the emphasis placed on this category. This step would not only make the University more economically representative of society, but would also give the admissions department a more accurate picture of prospective applicants.
Although these steps would work to decrease the degree of economic homogeneity on grounds, a complete transformation of the University's makeup will never occur unless the larger issues of educational inequality are addressed. Indeed, Americans will never see equality of opportunity until our nation's stark inequalities in grade school education are addressed. That is why our political leaders must join the University in taking down economic barriers to success by increasing state and federal funding for grade school education, while also expanding the resources available for federally sponsored financial aid.
With all this in mind, it is clear that nothing less than the promise of equality of opportunity is at stake with regards to this question. In the end, all we can do is hope that the University and the country as a whole are effective in tackling this issue.
Adam Keith's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at akeith@cavalierdaily.com.
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