Reflections
After four emails, Sebastian finally responded and we scheduled the interviews on 3 consecutive days. On the day of the first interview, I received a Skype message expressing that he felt uncomfortable using video cam for his interview. I quickly texted Sophie for advice and we decided to let the interviewee set the terms in this case. Reflecting back on this moment, I am glad I didn’t press for the video option. Sebastian quickly opened up over Skype, with our interviews averaging at one hour each (Sorry transcriber Skyler). I doubt the interviews with Sebastian would have yielded as much success if we use video chat because he may have not been as comfortable with me.
Mean Girls is an early 2000’s movie that showcases divisions and corresponding hierarchy among high schoolers. I used this movie to engage Sebastian in conversation and, in return, he provided me an insider’s peek at the social divisions at The Croft, where students group under social categories such as unpopular, average and popular. He informed me that he considers himself an average student. Additionally, he described the popular students as sporty, and he would have to devote more time to sports to be considered popular. Rugby is the top sport at the cross but Sebastian said their team is good but beatable and describes their biggest rival as an institution that values sports over academics. At The Croft, people look down on those values, as academics always come before extracurricular activities; this rules goes unstated but remains in everyone’s mind. The popular kids are jocks who excel in sports while nonathletes at The Croft are seen as unpopular.
Despite initial setbacks, the process of interviewing Sebastian felt rewarding. Saying goodbye at the closing of the third interview gave me a weird feeling- I built a connection with someone I will never meet or hear from again.
On the brighter side of things- I found that I love interviewing people. This weekend, my roommate’s friend Sam came over and I interviewed him about his schooling experience. Sam transferred to Unity college after attending Landmark College. Landmark College, in Vermont, exclusively serves students with specific learning disabilities. Sam stated disability-based discrimination rarely occurs among the student body and that the professors always acted as great resources. However, Sam looks back on his experience with distaste – he, almost forcibly, dropped out due to the institution’s high tuition. Tuition at Landmark is $65,430 and Sam claims that the majority of students either pay full tuition or fall into student debt. The average income earned with a Landmark degree, $22,000, only further plunges the students into debt. The institution breaks through the barriers of disability but not without the creation of a financial barrier.