The more things change
I can remember my first go round with academia. I thought myself fairly lucky, finance wise. I worked part-time during the school year, full-time each summer, received partial student assistance, and was able to make ends meet thanks to help from my parents. I kept my grocery bills to between $15 and $25/week, hardly ever went out for drinks or meals, and considered a $3 movie at Dunning Auditorium a big night out. I also squeezed myself into the same pair of Gap jeans for 4 consecutive years, almost every day. (Not being able to spend a lot of money on groceries helped on that front.) I was certainly nowhere near as well off as some of my fellow Life Scis, but I was better off than a lot of my friends. Money wasn't as big a stress in my life as it was in theirs, and for that I am very thankful.
Over the past few months back at Queen's, I have noticed that the average student seems to be a whole lot better off than I or any of my friends were when we were in school. I could never have afforded to buy a pair of Ugg boots (not that I'd want to even now...they're hideous) or Coach handbag, regardless of how little I was willing to spend on Mr Goudas brand canned goods. Yet, I see them all over Main Campus today. I literally can't look in any direction, a full 360 degrees, without seeing someone sporting a multi-hundred dollar accessory. At first I thought that maybe my perspective was a bit skewed, or perhaps these kids have a great line on where to get awesome knock-offs. Then I read this Op Ed piece in the campus newspaper, The Journal. May I direct your attention to the following paragraphs (emphasis mine):
"As far as I can tell, university students’ lives may change the least out of any segment of the population. This is partly because we aren’t working full-time, but also because, in a lot of ways, we’re already partying like it’s 1929...
...I’m aware that most of us aren’t exactly living in squalor, but extravagances are treated as just that—extravagances. For every overpriced bag or Smartphone purchased, there’s a textbook bought second-hand and a hundred nights spent shivering in under-heated apartments eating Kraft Dinner."
If you thought the average Queen's student circa 1997-2001 was over-priveleged, you haven't been to Kingston lately. For me, buying second-hand textbooks was de rigueur. It was a cost-saving measure so I could afford to pay my heating bills, not so I could buy an iPhone 3G (had they existed at the time). And I am pretty sure that anyone who lived through the crash of '29 would tell you that living in cold apartments and making meals of tea and toast while still not being able to afford a pair of shoes were not choices, but realities.
I worry about the modern University student. I worry that they are about to graduate into "the real world", and have no idea about what is a necessity versus a luxury. I worry that their expectations about consumption and instant gratification will further perpetuate the already dismal credit crisis. Mostly though, I worry that their Blackberries and Burberry will ultimately cost me.
Comments
We've been seeing the same horrible trend in the South here for a while: students buying luxury items and racking up tremendous debt -- OVER and ABOVE their college loans. I'm convinced it's simply the social values we've been teaching reflected in their behavior...
Here's an article I linked to a few years ago about right here in Washington:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2002065367_studentdebt17m.html
Posted by: david adam edelstein at February 11, 2009 12:24 PM
I'd argue that the trend started some time ago and some of them already have graduated into "the real world" many years ago and are the ones contributing to the current economic problems.
when I was at McGill there were definitely two distinct groups: "Haves" and "Have Nots". I was a member of the latter, despite the fact that I did not have to take out a student loan until 4th year. I did not have a checking account - only savings. I paid all my bills including rent in cash. I worked part time during the year and full time during the summer like you. I had strict budgets for food and bills. I went out very rarely and most of my social activity took place in Eileen's apartment and involved making mac & cheese, chocolate chip cookies, and doing laundry. Occasionally we'd go to the engineering beer bashes on friday, or party at some friends on the weekend where we'd pool our resources for alcohol :-) I talked to Mom and Dad on the phone once a month. And I don't think I bought any new clothes until my 3rd year and that was only when there were street sales (although i was a renowned window shopper. Loved to walk downtown and pretend I could afford the stuff in the windows. Would even try stuff on :-) So much so that for YEARS after leaving Montreal I had vivid repeating dreams that I was window shopping in the vast underground shopping malls. I still get them on occasion :-)) I never owned a credit card until my final year and arguably I didn't even own one then because it was stolen from me before I ever received it, and had to pay $600 back to Mastercard for cash advances I never made. Every apartment I lived in had a roach infestation and the only time I had fewer than 3 roommates was in my last year. All my textbooks were second hand; buying first hand seemed stupid. The "Haves" on the other hand lived in the upscale apartments and condos, all drove cars, ate at expensive restaurants, and wore all the latest trends. And near as I could tell, the ratio of Have Nots to Haves was definitely decreasing over time. And at first I thought they were just rich kids with rich families. And some of them were. But then I realized that many of them were simply living on credit, racking up debt, spending student loans on stuff unrelated to their education... being what I would consider completely irresponsible.
Posted by: Heather at February 11, 2009 05:21 PM