By Leslie Feldman

It’s a beautiful spring day but how many students will stop to smell the tulips on campus? Nestled amid the pastoral tranquility of arcadia, how many of us really appreciate our idyllic existence? Who of us appreciates walking to class to read and study the thoughts and ideas of the greatest thinkers the world has produced? Who of us truly appreciates the way we spend our days, in books and papers and the exchange of ideas? Who truly appreciates the interaction with students and faculty, the conversational give and take, the mentoring and camaraderie of those who share our experience?

Driving a truck, working on the road crew, laying bricks or working in business are all worthwhile, but we in academia–students and teachers–are privileged. Our privilege comes from the fact that we engage the life of the mind as a daily occupation and go forth in the pursuit of ideas, which, as Plato noted, are the only things that last. Or, as Woody Allen might have it: the invisible things are the truest things.

In the film Rushmore, an “underprivileged” kid named Max Fischer gets a scholarship to a swanky prep school to which he then devotes himself fully. He organizes and takes leadership roles in a variety of clubs and societies, produces plays and is the big man on campus. He heads the French Club and debate team, builds an aquarium and saves Latin. But his grades are not good and he gets expelled. “He loved Rushmore not wisely, but too well,” quoth the Bard. He may not have loved Rushmore wisely, but at least he loved it. On a beautiful fall day Max Fischer, played by Jason Schwartzman, takes in all the sights and sounds of Rushmore– the people, places and activities. His infectious enthusiasm energizes the place and engenders excitement in all the players on the Rushmore stage. “Does Max have anything planned for us today?” Mr. Blume, a Rushmore trustee played by Bill Murray, asks Miss Cross, a teacher at the school. When Max gets expelled from Rushmore he makes a go of it at Grover Cleveland, a large public high school, and though he is no longer in the rarified atmosphere of Rushmore Academy he makes friends and continues to take leadership roles and produces a play.

In the film Good Will Hunting the eponymous character Will, played by Matt Damon, does not have privilege but he does have talent. He is a math genius temporarily masquerading as a janitor in Boston. His girlfriend, Skylar, is from a privileged background and attends Harvard and it is she who points out to Will that by under-utilizing his talent he is missing tremendous opportunities. It is a privilege to have talent, and talent leads to privilege but only, as Will’s friend Chuckie notes, if it is used. Privilege comes from opportunity–making it or taking advantage of it. Those who have opportunity are privileged. Those who recognize opportunity appreciate privilege. Those who make opportunities enjoy privilege. Those who take advantage of opportunities and use their talents make their own privilege and earn their own privilege.

The Greek philosopher Plato noted that the thinkers in any society are the truly privileged class because they get to “dwell on the islands of the blessed” and pursue pure philosophy and ideas all day. They understand the truth. For Plato, this is bliss. Plato had very high standards–and if it was good enough for him shouldn’t it be good enough for us? Will Hunting lives in a blue collar world and Max Fischer lives in a world of privilege. They are “hunting” and “fishing” for something–both eventually appreciate their opportunities, but first they must recognize them.

If youth is wasted on the young, is college wasted on the sophomoric? Perhaps for a moment someone reading this will reflect on the bucolic surroundings and appreciate the privilege of being on this campus, a place of tranquility, civility and thought in a world that is not always peaceful, thoughtful, or civil. And perhaps, in so doing, will attempt to retain some of that essentially illuminating quality of education that we are privileged to enjoy. Perhaps in appreciating it someone will be more like Max Fischer and Will Hunting who “hunt” and “fish” for opportunities–and use them.