Stasis Grid

Author Info

Source Type

Categorical

Definitional

Causal

Evaluation

Action

Jurisdiction

Up to three
names, write them
all; 4+, write first
name et al. (i.e.,
Smith et al.)

(popular, scholarly,
trade, government)

Does X exist?

Is X a Y?

Does X cause Y?
Is Y a result of X?

Is it good or bad?
Fair or unfair?
Harmful or
beneficial?

What should be
done about X?

Who is responsible?

1. J.D.
Chapman is a
Yale graduate
and founder,
academic
director, and cohead of
Community
High School in
Virginia.

scholarly

Curious
people in the
18-21 age
group are
widely prone to
confused selfloathing no
matter where
they are.

The admissions
process is
representative
and not affected
by inflated
applications

2. William

popular

scholarly

Graduates of
elite schools
are not more
valuable than
less intelligent
people.

Some Ivy
graduates are
going into
fiscally
rewarding jobs
precisely
because they
came from
poorer
backgrounds.
The elite school
system causes
students to be
smart &
talented, but
also timid, lost,
and little
intellectual
curiosity.
-Elite schools
cause you to be
incapable of
talking to
people who
arent like you.
-Elite schools
cause a false
sense of selfworth.

Deresiewicz is a
Columbia grad,
former Yale
professor, and
current author
and literary
critic.

3. William
Deresiewicz is a
Columbia grad,
former Yale
professor, and
current author
and literary
critic.

essay-ready
summerswhen students
travel or
engage in
activities they
think will make
for intriguing
essays

College
admissions
standards are
extreme.

Elite schools
mostly value the
analytic vs. other
types of
intelligence.

The education
system should
mitigate the
class system,
not reproduce
it.

Stasis Grid
4. Zac

popular

Bissonnette is a
UMass Amherst
graduate and
author of DebtFree U, as well
as contributor to
various other
media outlets.

5. Moira Forbes

popular

is a Princeton
grad, daughter
of Forbes
editor-in-chief
Steve Forbes,
publisher, and
journalist.

Success
measured from
Ivy alumni
comes from
their already
established
connections,
hard work, and
intelligence
before
attending the
school.
Those meant to
be successful
would have
excelled at any
institution they
attended

Success is not
controlled or
defined by
where one is
educated.

It is more
beneficial to be a
star student at a
less elite
university than an
average student
at an elite
institution.

Author Info

Source Type

Categorical

Definitional

Causal

Up to three
names, write them
all; 4+, write first
name et al. (i.e.,

(popular, scholarly,
trade, government)

Does X exist?

Is X a Y?

Does X cause Y?
Is Y a result of X?

-Ambitious
people naturally
strive to attend
the very best
educational
institutions
should
circumstances
allow, displaying
the discipline and
work ethic thats
critical to
achieving such
levels of future
success.
- Ivies give
potential
graduates more
opportunities and
help open doors
in the workplace.
Evaluation
Is it good or bad?
Fair or unfair?
Harmful or
beneficial?

Action

Jurisdiction

What should be
done about X?

Who is responsible?

Stasis Grid
Smith et al.)

6. Andrew

popular

Yale treats
mental health
cases like
liabilities
instead of as
members of the
community.

Elite colleges
withdrawal and
readmission
policies cause
students to feel
more alone and
worsen mental
health.

scholarly

Elite colleges
provide
opportunities,
experiences,
and resources
that are rarely
found
elsewhere.

Being around
ambitious and
capable people
causes
individuals to
be just as
ambitious and
capable.

scholarly

-Top colleges
have become
more diverse,
but they're still
bastions of
elitism.

As Ivy League
institutions
became
multicultural
and co-ed, the
larger society

Gimabrone is a
Yale grad,
author, and
editor.

7. Sam
Goldman is a
Harvard grad,
professor of
political theory
at George
Washington
University, and
publisher.
8. Michael
Kazin is a
Harvard,
Portland State,
and Stanford
graduate,
historian,

Yales
withdrawal and
withdrawal
policy include
obscure
statements
making it
difficult for
students with
mental-health
issues to feel
comfortable
leaving campus,
even when taking
time off from
school may
improve their
wellbeing
Top-tier financial
and consulting
firms value elite
educated
individuals more

Stasis Grid
researcher,
author, and
professor at
Georgetown.

9. Harold S.

popular

Koplewicz, MD
is a UMD
graduate and
founder and
president of the
Child Mind
Institute.

10. Ashley
Merianos is an
assistant
professor at the
University of
Cincinnati

scholarly

-Whatever a
student's race,
gender, or
sexual identity,
she or he has
an excellent
chance to win a
race at elite
schools that
most other
citizens can
barely afford to
enter.
-Suicides are
not higher or
lower at elite
schools.
-Students with
already
established
psychiatric
problems hide
it in the college
admissions
process.
There are
several risk
factors
associated with
developing
mental health
problems
during the
college years.

their graduates
helped to lead
became
increasingly
divided by
income and
class.

More people
are going to
college which
has caused
suicide
statistics
among collegeaged people to
go up.

Students and
parents should
seek mental
health care or
therapy when
they get to
their intended
school.

College
campus
personnel
should reach
out students
about
preventing
mental
disorders as
well as
increasing the
number of

General life
experiences,
low self esteem,
and low social
support

Stasis Grid
students
seeking
treatment.

11. Joseph
Murtaugh is a
journalist for
the Ithaca
Times. Ronald
Ehrenberg is a
Bingham and
Northwestern
graduate,
economist, and
professor at
Cornell.
12. Sadia
Saleem, Zahid
Mahmood, and
Madeha Naz
work at
Pakistani
Universities.

popular,
scholarly

There is a
significant
economic
return in
attending an
elite private
institution.

scholarly

The university
years of an
individual are
emotionally
and
intellectually
more
demanding
than almost any
other stage of
education.

13. Zach
Schwartz is a
recent Columbia
graduate, writer,
and blogger.

popular

At Ivies,
dreams take
a backseat to
prestige and
stability.

The elite school

system is not a
track for
everyone.

The definition
of what is
mentally
healthy is
measured
depending on
the nature and
causal factors.

Mental health
problems
among
university
students have
short term and
long term
consequences
including
decreasing
work capacity
and poor
academic
performance.

The intense
pressure at
Ivies lead to
more
competition.

Ivy pressure
and culture is
harmful to
mental health

The definite
reasons for
elite school
success are
unknown.

Stasis Grid
14. Alexandra
Svokos is a
recent Columbia
graduate, writer,
and editor.

popular

Mental
instability and
false cultural
literacy is not
specific to Ivy
Leagues.

15. Vaios
Triantafyllou is
a UPenn and
Harvard
graduate,
founder of
Retramat, and
blogger.

popular

Most Ivy
schools treat
mental health
issues as a
problem that
needs to be
solved they
dont look at
the
foundations.

-Rigorous
curriculum
means an
enhanced
intellectual
curiosity.
-Many
students cant
initially afford
an elite
education
which is why
they seek high
economic
return jobs.
The
examination
system adds a
severe amount
of stress and
contributes to
the
development
of mental
health
problems

Ivies should
create
different
tracks of study
for a single
course, each
with a
different
workload,
fitting
different
students with
distinct
aspirations

top
universities of
the country are
trying to
prepare
students for
these
demanding and
highly
competitive
careers with
similarly
intense
academic
workloads.