Students and their impenetrable sphere of privilege
Its no secret that students in higher education have leverage in the world that other people their age don't. But this leverage, or rather this privilege, reaches far and wide. College students are taken more seriously by adults, viewed as having more ambition (no matter the occupation or goals of young adults not pursuing higher education), and given more leeway in pressing situations where their character is being judged.
Entrepreneurs without degrees are often not given the same platform or looked at with the same amount of credibility as students are. Higher education in America as-is has already created an unfair environment to those who are economically disadvantaged. Young adults who opt to go straight into the job force or try and build up their own businesses/non-profits have to go through many barriers, a number of which should not technically be affected by the fact that they don't have an associates or bachelors degree.
Many of these people are not even given the opportunity to pursue higher education, and even if they are their shouldn't be a stigma regarding their choice not to.
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I'm really glad you brought this up. This kind of educational elitism is so pervasive. It always surprises me that people often equate education or academic achievements with individual worth, as if having an education makes you worthy of having a better life than everyone else. It’s often used in news reporting of crime victims and suspects. Parents defend their children by saying he/she is a good person who makes A’s and goes to a high-ranking school and didn’t deserve for ‘x’ bad thing to happen to them, or their child couldn’t have done (insert some illegal act) because they are smart and high-achieving. The way we interact with people shouldn't be based on or determined by value assigned by an educational system that is inaccessible to so many people.
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