Students should take meaningful actions to address inequities

Chris Lee, Managing Editor|March 19, 2023

The term “privilege” has become ubiquitous in modern-day discourse: In 2019, an FBI investigation titled Operation Varsity Blues revealed how 33 parents of college applicants had paid $25 million dollars between 2011 and 2018 to bribe college officials. Earlier this year, the death of Tyre Nichols again revealed policing disparities between poorer urban areas and wealthier suburban ones, and how they influence relations between law enforcement and the community.

Privilege is supposed to be desirable: Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines privilege as “a right, advantage, favor or immunity specially granted to one; especially, a right held by a certain individual, group or class, and withheld from certain others or all others.” Still, focusing on the latter part of the definition—“withheld from certain others or all others”—can lead to phenomena such as “white guilt,” where one feels a sense of shame due to unearned or unfair privileges. Narratives discussing privilege’s influence only compound this issue. They rarely address meaningful efforts advantaged groups can take, instead stopping at the fact that an event highlighted a certain type of privilege. Thus, those in advantaged groups often make one of two non-ideal choices: Ignore the problem altogether to avoid guilt or engage in performative activism to ease guilt. Rather than pursue either one of these paths, those with privilege should make purposeful efforts to effect change.

Undoubtedly, the ability to attend Palo Alto schools, including Gunn, is a privilege. Palo Alto Unified School District is a basic aid district, where property tax revenues exceed the minimum funding threshold set by the state. Given that the median home price in Palo Alto is $2 million according to Niche, the district is able to use its plethora of funds to attract highly qualified teachers and offer a diverse array of rigorous courses—factors which have been shown to positively impact post-secondary student achievement. Moreover, individuals with a bachelor’s degree are wealthier and experience less downward mobility. Thus, Palo Alto students—whose families generally make higher incomes—are most likely to stay in their income bracket as adults.

Although these wealth figures may not resonate with every Gunn student, school-provided resources apply to everyone regardless of affluence, resulting in advantages that may not be afforded to lesser-resourced schools. Students are apparently aware of this dynamic: According to a self-selected survey sent out to Gunn students by The Oracle from March 1 to March 6 with 96 responses, 87.5% of students said that they are aware of their privilege. In another question with 78 responses,21.8% said that they use their privilege to promote meaningful reforms.

Meaningful action does not mean every person with privilege is tasked with drastically altering the status quo. It does, however, require advantaged groups to reckon with their privilege and be cognizant of its effects. For instance, while climate change protests or racial equity trainings are opportunities to start addressing privilege, they also demonstrate it: Individuals in the “Palo Alto Bubble” will never experience climate change’s worst consequences, and Gunn is one of few schools across the nation that even offers dedicated spaces to discuss equity. Therefore, participation cannot be the end goal. Instead, students should use these opportunities to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and resources to address real-world issues. That may be as simple as having a conversation about life experiences with someone who has different or fewer privileges. While advantaged groups should draw upon their knowledge of current issues, they should still let those with lived experiences lead the dialogue. Otherwise, it can be tempting to adopt a paternalistic mindset akin to the one presented in steel industrialist Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth,” published in the June 1889 edition of the North American Review, where privileged people believe it is their duty to determine which efforts will “produce the most beneficial results for the community” using their “superior wisdom.”

Furthermore, students should be open to conversations surrounding privilege, even if these discussions are uncomfortable. Truly confronting privilege requires advantaged groups to step away from their sheltered backgrounds, contextualize the impacts of privilege and gain a better understanding of necessary reforms. More often than not, this process reveals complicity in furthering inequities: Why do a disproportionate percentage of Gunn students hire private college counselors when most are part of the group that needs them the least? Why do Palo Alto homeowners rally against policies to build affordable housing when their homes are already worth millions of dollars?

Thus, meaningful action necessitates recognizing that reform carries a personal impact. It may look like lobbying for higher-density housing in Palo Alto even though doing so may deflate housing prices.It may also look like using the power that comes with a leadership position to make space for underrepresented groups to take initiative, instead of furthering personal interests. Especially in a competitive environment such as Gunn, community-outreach efforts can easily turn into pet projects guided by what looks best on a college resume instead of the community’s actual needs. Acting upon personal fulfillment only results in self-serving gestures that—while making students feel charitable—protect them from the harsher realities of those they are providing said charity for.

Ultimately, although privilege comes with birth, those with privilege can choose what they do with it. Acknowledging privilege does not diminish the value of hard work. Especially considering that many students or their parents are first-generation immigrants, it can be easy to take the American Dream at face value—that everyone can prosper with enough work and motivation regardless of where they start. While this idea is not inherently false, privilege plays an important role alongside hard work in creating achievement. Thus, the end goal is not to give those with less privilege a “recipe for success,” since there is no guarantee that one person’s path will yield the same final product for another. Instead of standing for others in the community, advantaged groups should stand with them, and work together to create a more equitable future.