Michael Glanzel of the Cornell Daily Sun recently penned an opinion piece defending the institution of the Ivy League.
Yes, this does sound elitist and out of touch. Not elite, but elitist.
The Ivy League was founded as a sports conference to preserve the traditional ideals of college athletics and continues to this day in this purpose (by regulating practice hours and prohibiting athletic scholarships). Ivy League student-athletes regularly reach the pinnacle of their sports, whilst simultaneously undergoing rigorous academic schedules. By ignoring the very reason the Ivy League was founded in the first place, Glanzel proves he has no idea what he is talking about.
Glanzel also fails to mention how the “greatest hallmark” of Ivy League institutions is maintained; loyal giving from alumni and friends of the respective institutions. The lack of any mention of the generosity of donors in Glanzel’s article is telling of his “me first” attitude.
Ironically, he then makes the conflicting argument that the Sun is full of “conflicting and competing” ideas, then in the same sentence condemns the “narrative generated by the right”. The Cornell Daily Sun is so out of touch with reality, that they have failed to mention even a single instance of President Trump’s success or the recent Maryland school shooting (which disproves most of the anti-gun lobby’s arguments). Instead, they are content with their anonymous “Sex on Thursday” series.
One of Cornell University’s slogans used to be “Elite not Elitist”. Unfortunately, it is not so popular anymore.
