What does it mean for a teenager not to be “widely respected”?

…besides not getting into Harvard?

It might mean

• being a maverick
• worse: a gadfly
• being sartorially challenged
• being a hyper-focused nerd
• being dreamy and out of it
• being socially awkward
• worst of all: being on the autism spectrum

In its quest for diversity, Harvard is missing out.

Is Harvard alone in this?

Should we care?

A gigantic pyramid scheme

It was the opening sentence of an Opinion piece in last week’s Philadelphia Inquirer that first caught my eye:

Ask students what year Columbus sailed the ocean blue and they’ll likely respond with “1492!”

I’m guessing that most students these days have no idea when Columbus sailed over here. After all, as yesterday’s Washington Post reports, two-thirds of millennials don’t know what Auschwitz is, and 22% “haven’t heard of the Holocaust or are not sure whether they’ve heard of it.”