This article is composed of highlighted quotes from an interview with an anonymous Bowdoin student. It is a detailed look into one Bowdoin student’s thoughts on wealth and its impact on their lives. It is color-coded by theme. Blue represents the development of the wealth stigma based on one’s previous and current friend groups and environments. Red represents the perception of material goods and actions as symbols of wealth and the conclusions drawn from that information. Purple represents the notion that wealth is a challenging and uncomfortable topic that people avoid, due to its stigmatization.
“I would say that [talking about wealth is] one of the more uncomfortable things to talk about just because my friend group is very economically diverse and so it can be awkward to talk about things because we all grew up in different income groups.”
“Based off of the people I’ve met this year, I think that campus is socioeconomically diverse.”
“[Indicators of wealth on campus include] what type of winter coat people have, Canada goose jackets, which makes you feel that Bowdoin is full of upper class people. I think also iPhones, like what model, or if you’re covered by financial aid or have a membership for the craft center or BOC membership.”
“Some [students] wouldn’t go home because maybe they couldn’t afford to travel.”
“If they’re working somewhere over the summer, they would have to go home and then come back to Bowdoin, and [they might struggle] to pay for that.”
“I went to a private school located in the richer part of Cincinnati, Ohio so there were definitely a lot of richer kids that went to that school. Unlike Bowdoin, in Ohio, you just don’t need that great of a winter jacket. We had different symbols of wealth, but I feel like Patagonia, The North Face, and Apple watches were indicators of wealth.”
“It was harder to distinguish people based off of their wealth in high school. Maybe it’s because you don’t see them 24/7.”
“In my friend group, I feel like [discussions about wealth are] kind of dominated by people talking about lack of wealth more often than it is about people talking, you know what I mean? People try really hard not to come off as privileged.”
“People who are from prep schools – I have a tendency to think that they’re more wealthy.”
“[The phrase] ‘I’m just outside of Boston’ [signals wealth.]”
“[I think why people might feel guilty about their wealth] kind of goes back to the skewed economics of the country that just doesn’t seem fair. Like how one person could live super comfortably during, even this quarantine time when the economy is failing. Other people are losing their jobs. And maybe being evicted by landlords or something. While other people are just, you know, it’s the same old for them.”
“[I think wealthy people are] afraid of criticism or their wealth, and, I don’t know, being [perceived as not] caring or compassionate maybe, fitting the negative stereotypes of a wealthy person.”
“I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with having wealth. But the US economic disparity has grown from 8%, in I think it was the 1930s or maybe 1890s, to 20% [today]. So it’s just growing and it’s higher than ever. That’s not right. So I think there is something wrong with wealth in this country, but I don’t think that one person having more than another person is always wrong. I think that’s just how society sometimes functions.”
“I guess just having more discussions like this, but not even for an assignment just having them in friend groups and talking about each other’s experiences could make it seem more normal and can help you understand what other people go through. I think when you don’t talk about things is when people hold all these emotions within them, and bad things happen. But if you can just get yourself to talk about things and be honest with each other, about your feelings, then it would be better and you could help destigmatize wealth on campus.”
“I feel like the uncomfortable part came up when I’m not sure what your guys’ economic backgrounds are and what you will think. I think that’s why a lot of wealth conversations stop. It’s because of that fear of what other people will think about you. And I think that’s what prevents them from happening.”
“I feel like I’ve never been in a situation at Bowdoin with a group of people from the same socioeconomic class, but I would say that it makes it easier. This is something my cousins and I often talk about. We’re so lucky because I’m a first generation college student, but I feel like I’m an abnormality as my dad’s side was completely homeschooled. It’s not generational wealth necessarily, but it’s just the last generation finally made it.”
“I have never really had these wealth conversations with other people from the upper-middle-class who are not related to me, I feel like in society, that just does not happen because people don’t really like to talk about how much they have.”
“My best friend and I in high school talked about it a little bit, but it wasn’t in depth. Indirectly, we could tell what class we were in because of possessions.”