Non fiction

Class Clash

They just graduated from University.

One is relieved. One is sad.

One worked hard. Got up early, went to lectures, studied in the library and worked in a café every free minute to keep the debt as small as possible. The University of Lincoln was expensive; at least for him it was. 

His marks were good at first. He wanted to do it; he knew he could do it. He had to!

But there wasn’t any time left to recover, to relax, to recharge.

Keep working, keep studying, keep going!

When his life as a student came to an end, he was relieved. Finally he reached his aim.

His marks had suffered from him working long hours but still he held the degree in his hands and could start his new life with hopefully a good job. Finally his efforts would pay off.

The other one worked,  well, kind of hard. Got up early, went to lectures, studied in the library and checked if his parents had already transferred the money to his bank account. Oxford was expensive but he didn’t have to worry about it.

His marks were good. He wanted to do this but he also wanted to enjoy his life and he could!

There was plenty of time to recover, to relax and recharge.

Keep studying, keep going but also stay relaxed!

When his life as a student came to an end he was sad. Now he has to grow up. His marks had suffered a little from partying but still he held the degree in his hands and had to start his new life with a good job he knew he would get. Because he had a degree from the University of Oxford. Finally his parents’ efforts would pay off.

In this fragment of fiction I wanted to explore the inequality that obtains in the HE system. The older a university is the better its reputation is and thus the better the student’s chances are to get a good job when having been to one of these universities. But another question we asked ourselves in the lecture was; who gets into the prestigious universities? Probably students, whose parents have a lot of money. Does that mean they are better? Does that mean that they have more ‘right’ to go into a more prestigious university than students whose parents don’t have the money to get them into ‘Oxbridge’? The problem with that I think is that also after university it is easier for people who went to such a university. They get a good job more easily than people who went to a normal university even if they got better marks there and worked harder.

Is it really the right and fair way if education and thus knowledge have to suffer because students have to work so hard to pay for their education?

Sina Deutschmann

© 2014