Word: elitists
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...touch," said Herb B. Berkowitz, vice president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think-tank, "They're out-of-touch with ordinary people who get up in the morning at 5 a.m. and work long hours in order to put food on the table. Harvard is an elitist institution...
Underlying the decision to embrace the Common Application is a desire for Harvard to seem less elitist. As Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons '67 has said, by switching to the new system, "We are levelling the playing field." The obvious implication is that the field wasn't level enough in the first place. Apparently, by requiring applicants to obtain and fill out a Harvard application, the College was imposing what Fitzsimmons and others believe was an unfair hurdle on some applicants. This hurdle, we are told implicitly, smacks of elitism...
...though, is that Harvard is effectively lowering its standards for admission. The quest for diversity should not consist of recruiting those who, absent the Common Application, would view applying to Harvard as too much of a chore. If that is considered elitism, then by all means, Harvard should be elitist...
Indeed, in some ways it seems "diversity" has become the buzzword of those who decry Harvard for being elitist. A stunning example of this occurred a few months ago, when the College found itself embroiled in debate over its refusal to admit Gina Grant, a high school honors student who had committed matricide. On the one side were those--like me--who argued that a woman who five years ago brutally bludgeoned her mother to death (and then lied about it in her college interview) does not deserve admission to Harvard. On the other side were those who lambasted...
This sort of haphazard bandying about of notions like diversity and elitism mocks the real meaning of the words. Harvard is not being elitist when it declines to open its doors to a killer. Acceptance here is no one's right. Rather, it is a privilege that should be selectively awarded based on each applicant's character, demonstrated commitment to excellence and capacity for achievement. Often, these standards are difficult to measure objectively; sometimes, no doubt, Harvard makes mistakes. But it is the commitment to upholding these standards that makes this University America's finest institution of higher learning...