Equality and Sameness

Today it was raised in class, the question of equality among Oles. Dan mentioned one of the greatest things about St. Olaf is that all its students are equal or at least treated equally, and because the members of this community each other equally we all have access to the same opportunities. A contrary point was made that in fact all Oles are NOT all equal, particularly in the domain of financial matters. It is not true that all Oles have the same opportunities based on personal barriers, but that perhaps because we still treat each other equally even though we aren't is also a the problem. Treating each other equally is rooted in the assumption that we are all equal. Paige suggested that this leads to an expectation that everybody actually is equal and should be able to reach the same opportunities She specifically mentioned going abroad. Particularly for language majors there may be some expectation that students will spend time abroad, even though it is not explicitly required. Paige claimed this expectation is unreasonable because not all Oles have equal opportunity and the school is not unlimited in its ability to help students reach their goals. Along the same lines Eric later commented on another aspect of inequality at St. Olaf. He identified seniority as a point of inequality among students. Upperclassmen get first pick and consideration for classes, room draw and competitive opportunities and internships. I, however, think that these two points confuse the concepts of equality and sameness. Of course Oles are all different from one another because we are individuals. No individual is going to be the same as the next because we all grow up separately. We experience different situations and learn different lessons and come from different backgrounds with parents who are also separate individuals and make livings in different ways. Upperclassmen are not offered extra privileges because they are any better individuals than we are but they are not the same in that they have had more experience here so they have in a sense earned their 'first pick'. Additionally often it is because certain courses are required for specific majors that upperclassmen have priority for those classes. They get priority out of necessity not because the administration values upperclassmen more than freshmen. In conclusion no we are not all the same. We all have had different experiences and different levels of experience which earn certain individuals or require certain individuals to be considered first for certain opportunities, but regardless I do believe that those opportunities on a basic level ARE available to all Oles.