Hard days at Harvard.(Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class )(Book Review)

Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class By Ross Gregory Douthat Hyperion, 304 pages, $24.95

Harvard, I discovered early in my undergraduate career, enrolled students with a range of abilities, from the young man who could name all 535 members of Congress without prompting, to the young woman who thought a dominatrix was "like a printer." My former classmates also had a wide range of interests and views. Amazingly, most of them--from the large self-described "polyamorous black woman" to the gay Republican "Jeopardy!" contestant from Kentucky--seemed to find themselves at home at Harvard.

But not right away, as Harvard's administration does little to guide students socially or academically. "Mother Harvard doesn't nurture her young," a dean there once told me.

Ross Douthat, now three years out of Harvard himself, spent a lot of time as an undergraduate searching for his niche, in this memoir, he documents his search in detail. Readers will find the book a quick and often amusing read. Most will also find it self-indulgent.

Shortly after arriving on campus, Douthat is "punched" for a couple of final clubs. Formerly havens for upper class gentlemen, final clubs have become Harvard's equivalent of fraternities, though no one lives in them. Douthat, whose family is by no means poor, marvels at the wealth and status of the young men around him. Their jokes about the sailing team, their travels abroad, their names (particularly how many they have in common with Harvard buildings) set him to coveting. "The Porcellian boys were part of a magical pampered ruling class, and I wanted in."

Which brings us to Douthat's examination of "Ruling Classes." The first ruling class is the old one whose members got to be where they are because of their ancestors' presence on the Mayflower. Douthat claims this group is slowly disappearing, but that it's still got a certain hold on the undergraduate imagination. At any rate, he claims little respect for this group--all of the prep school boys hanging out, spending gross amounts of money on liquor and fancy dinners. (Douthat went to prep school too, though not the right one.) But he also notes that several of these individuals went into national service after graduation, "as if some residue of the older world of noblesse oblige remained in those institutions and had rubbed off on them."

The second ruling class, the newer one, is the meritocracy. Its members are admitted to Harvard because of their perfect GPAs, their high SAT scores, and their long lists of extracurricular activities (which must always include a nice balance of sports, clubs, and community ...