Stepford University!

After one of my recent visits to my alma mater, I somewhat mischievously penned this critique of its current superstar status.  It reflects my concerns about the hyper-competitive and materialistic trends of our society, though it is perhaps a bit harsh and undoubtedly exaggerated in its depiction.

I had a dream last night. 

It was about my alma mater, Stanford University.  I flew back for a visit and found that it had changed its name to Stepford University.  When I drove up to the campus I was amazed to find out that all of the students were perfect.  Every one of them was a successful entrepreneur by the time he or she graduated.  Most of them were also playing varsity sports on teams that won championships every year.  They were all incredibly good looking with perfect bodies and bright smiles that radiated energy and confidence.  They were so diverse – White, East Asian, South Asian, African-American, Hispanic  – yet somehow they all looked and acted pretty much alike.

Every student already had a resume that seemed superhuman.  But these resumes were only the first step to the dizzying heights of accomplishment that they expected to ascend.

As I wandered the campus I looked for students who were pondering the basic questions of existence and who were confused about their place in the world.  I listened for conversations about Camus or Keats, but instead heard talk of Google internships, McKinsey bonuses and first year Wall Street salaries. I suppose that there must have been some students who were searching for meaning and grappling with self-doubt, but I couldn’t find them. 

I tried to find the university I had once attended -  the one where the students were pretty much normal kids, maybe a little brighter than average but humbled by their lack of experience and knowledge; the one where the sports teams had occasional success, but played for the sheer joy of it, more often than not in obscurity; the one where no one was angling to be a billionaire a few years after graduating, but rather was more concerned with being a college student and seeking knowledge and understanding; the school with the open fields and spaces all over campus instead of the dense mass of buildings and dedicated fields named after rich alumni or corporations. I tried to find that school, but then I realized it no longer existed.  Stanford had become Stepford.

I had a dream last night.  I’m sure glad it was only a dream.