People want to have status markers to point to. Attending an elite school or sending your kids to one are great status markers, plus the value of elite networki

People want to have status markers to point to. Attending an elite school or sending your kids to one are great status markers, plus the value of elite networking and all the elite opportunities. The argument is often framed in terms of race-conscious admissions to elite schools, but in reality it's over who gets to gatekeep the ranks of the elite. These are fundamentally contentious and limited. This author wants to talk about broad access to education instead. They note correctly that there are really not that many people who are affected by these policy squabbles and far more who benefit from getting access to higher education of any non-elite quality.