Universities Are Not the Enemy

At the risk of waxing autobiographical, I have found myself in a strange place since J. D. Vance’s VP nomination and the media’s subsequent focus on his academic pedigree.

Vance’s childhood and mine were hardly parallel, as my family was not beset by substance abuse, domestic violence, or anything of that sort. But our backgrounds share certain broad plot points: Heartland kid from a conservative community attends elite East Coast institution — in Vance’s case, Yale Law School, in mine, Yale College — and receives a culture shock.

About the Author

Kayla Bartsch

Kayla Bartsch is a former William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism at National Review.

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At the risk of waxing autobiographical, I have found myself in a strange place since J. D. Vance’s VP nomination and the media’s subsequent focus on his academic pedigree.

Vance’s childhood and mine were hardly parallel, as my family was not beset by substance abuse, domestic violence, or anything of that sort. But our backgrounds share certain broad plot points: Heartland kid from a conservative community attends elite East Coast institution — in Vance’s case, Yale Law School, in mine, Yale College — and receives a culture shock.