We all understand that Princeton is an obscenely wealthy institution, steeped in the kind of riches that go back centuries, but after almost three years here, I still don’t understand what rights we as students have to access that money.
Recently, columnist Marni Morse ’17 wrote an article suggesting that the University should subsidize student train tickets to New York. Initially, the article irritated me; asking for such a financial favor seemed extremely entitled. Do we deserve pleasure jaunts to New York whenever we like? Why should the University subsidize these trips, particularly when there are already so many opportunities for heavily subsidized trips to New York through the residential colleges?
However, the fact of the matter is that Princeton has billions of dollars that it has been hoarding for years, like the dragon in a children’s story. Why shouldn’t Marni ask that they put that money toward financing additional trips to New York? While the investments in Princeton’s endowments keep the University running, we can certainly spend a little more without running out anytime soon. In any case, Princeton certainly has exorbitant expenses, from free T-shirts to ridiculous quantities of food as incentives to attend various events.
Even with this approach, I still did not support the proposed plan to subsidize train tickets. My real concern lay not in the money to be spent, but rather in the act of asking. I am deeply uncomfortable with the image of a Princeton student with one hand outstretched asking for more money on top of the enormous amount that is spent on each of us already. Shouldn’t we be grateful?
The question I’m still struggling with is whether or not that expectation of gratitude is reasonable. Princetonians will inevitably become entitled once we are brought here, showered with gifts and attention and told over and over again how exceptional we are for making it here. The act of asking for subsidized train tickets is just the logical extension of this attitude. If we are so special and the University is so rich, why shouldn’t we ask them to pay for our every desire? This spoiled child isn’t an attractive self-portrait.
The distinction between what is reasonable and what is obscene lies in the difference between what is freely offered and what is asked for. I am grateful for the opportunities the University’s inconceivable wealth has bought for me, from the places to which I never could have traveled to the Broadway shows I never would have seen. But if I consume these opportunities so eagerly, why do I flinch when Marni takes it to another level by asking for a couple of bucks to go to New York, which is a drop in the ocean that is Princeton’s endowment? I guess I have yet to come to grips with what it means to be swimming in so much money.
It can be argued that the University has chosen to give itself the role of providing for its students. It is also certainly true that the University has the resources to pay for our whims. However, I am concerned about the shock we’ll experience when we leave the Orange Bubble. We will already emerge as adults accustomed to the privileges and luxuries of being a Princeton student. I don’t think we need to add to that the burden of being the sort of adults who are used to the dispensation of cash on demand.
Zeena Mubarak is a Near Eastern Studies major from Fairfax, Va. She can be reached at zmubarak@princeton.edu.
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