Talk or Stay Silent, But Don’t Forget to Vote
Benjamin Jobes '01, Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 11/5/00 Section: Viewpoints
- Page 1 of 2 next >
“So, what are people saying on campus about the election?” Has anyone asked you this seemingly straightforward question? The question tends to come from those outside of the MBA world and who wouldn’t necessarily appreciate the impenetrability the Sage Hall walls. After I acknowledge that I am a bit out of touch with non-Johnson School Cornell students, the question inevitably becomes, “So what are business students saying about the election.” To this question, I normally confess “Well, we don’t usually talk about it.”
To many people that are not aware of business school culture, my second acknowledgement may seem a bit shocking. After all, we are part of an Ivy League university. Our students have an incredible amount of knowledge in subjects ranging from the most technical to the most philosophical. Certainly, our breadth in understanding must extend to political issues, given their central role in our society.
Often, it can be quite difficult to get a political pulse at business school, beyond one’s most intimate circle of friends. Since there is a human tendency to associate with others that share similar values and cultures, our inner circles are not particularly helpful for estimating school-wide opinions. Existing stereotypes about b-school political tendencies are also of limited value-particularly in light of the increased diversity of the MBA population--in terms of culture as well as professional background. Therefore, our relative silence on political issues makes it quite difficult to assess how our fellow students feel about the upcoming election.
In the b-school world, voting preferences are among several key items considered to be highly private. This makes sense in light of our view that fellow students are not only colleagues in our intellectual pursuits, but also members of our ongoing network of business contacts. It is no surprise that b-school students highly value the privacy of the voting booth, considering the degree of caution that is demanded by so many other aspects of our business lives. In an interview with a firm that uses strict functional assignments, a careless vocalization of one’s preference for a rotational program may not only be a minor faux pas, but a fatal blow. Can you imagine if politics were a part of the equation?
To many people that are not aware of business school culture, my second acknowledgement may seem a bit shocking. After all, we are part of an Ivy League university. Our students have an incredible amount of knowledge in subjects ranging from the most technical to the most philosophical. Certainly, our breadth in understanding must extend to political issues, given their central role in our society.
Often, it can be quite difficult to get a political pulse at business school, beyond one’s most intimate circle of friends. Since there is a human tendency to associate with others that share similar values and cultures, our inner circles are not particularly helpful for estimating school-wide opinions. Existing stereotypes about b-school political tendencies are also of limited value-particularly in light of the increased diversity of the MBA population--in terms of culture as well as professional background. Therefore, our relative silence on political issues makes it quite difficult to assess how our fellow students feel about the upcoming election.
In the b-school world, voting preferences are among several key items considered to be highly private. This makes sense in light of our view that fellow students are not only colleagues in our intellectual pursuits, but also members of our ongoing network of business contacts. It is no surprise that b-school students highly value the privacy of the voting booth, considering the degree of caution that is demanded by so many other aspects of our business lives. In an interview with a firm that uses strict functional assignments, a careless vocalization of one’s preference for a rotational program may not only be a minor faux pas, but a fatal blow. Can you imagine if politics were a part of the equation?