I just read the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s daily summary. It ended with an apparently real story of a new college student who emailed her roommates saying that because since her name was in the first half of the alphabet, she got to move in 1st and pick the best bed. Perhaps that was a joke by the roommate or the Chronicle. But here’s what struck me: some new students feel fortunate just to have a bed as opposed to the best bed. And can we all agree that there is not ONE best bed? Might that depend on whether you like windows or corners or top/bottom bunk? No conversation? What about switching beds every 3 months? There's a lesson whether the story was true or fake: the entering classes at all universities are not composed of clones—clones of the parents or new students. Might that engender an openness and capacity to engage thoughtfully w/ others as opposed to “owning the room” as the mother in the story is quoted as saying? How about owning decency? It saddens me that for some students the rocky start that many experience is exacerbated by privilege and false winning. Maybe the tallest student picks first. Maybe the one w/ the lowest GPA? Maybe the artist or athlete? Just saying: is the alphabet the stand in for privilege? Might that depend on which alphabet too? …see more