In 2022, economists led by Raj Chetty published a paper in which they analyzed something called “economic interconnectedness,” the number of friendships across class lines. They found clear socioeconomic stratification, with people of high socioeconomic status having a higher share of friends who were high-income than people of low socioeconomic status. This is problematic because they also found that forming friendships across class lines is strongly correlated with increased upward mobility.
Some level of income stratification is not shocking. Family income influences upbringing and lifestyle, and income directly influences how individuals spend their free time. Since a key part of friendship is bonding over shared experiences and hobbies, it is logical that there may be some natural clustering that drives income stratification. However, there are real barriers and factors beyond this that increase stratification, and universities such as Tufts are not immune to these forces.
In a paper aptly titled “The Costs of Belonging: How Spending Money Influences Social Relationships in College,” researchers found “spending money was a significant influence on students’ social relationships,” and “access to spending money factored into students’ sense of belonging … or their sense of social exclusion.” As students, we can try to prevent this at Tufts by thoughtfully planning events that do not have an implicit paywall. This could mean prioritizing free or low-cost activities like game nights, potlucks and movies, while avoiding making fancy restaurants, concerts or shopping sprees a default form of socializing. Clubs could also consider eliminating dues and ensuring activities do not require spending money to participate.
The Tufts administration also has an important role to play in two key ways. First, Tufts should continue to build more housing so fewer students have to find housing off-campus. In any housing market, homes with attractive attributes (campus proximity, spacious bedrooms, etc.) have higher rents. This means that when searching for off-campus housing, students must determine how much they are willing to pay for nicer accommodations, and this calculation will heavily depend on income. Therefore, when students naturally form housing groups with those who have a similar willingness to pay, they end up living with people of a similar income bracket. In other words, the private housing market leads to self-sorting, where housing groups are stratified by budget, and thus, income.
Second, Tufts should do more to create an environment where socialization and exploration do not necessitate expense. This can mean hosting more on-campus events that are free or affordable, such as formals, concerts and bar nights, etc. Tufts should also do a better job of providing free entry to museums and libraries in Boston. Columbia, for instance, does this in New York City with a Columbia student ID offering free admission to over 20 museums in NYC. Finally, Tufts should follow in the steps of universities such as University of Southern California, which gives students U-Passes that allow them unlimited free rides on LA’s metro and buses, and create an equivalent of the U-Pass by fully subsidizing the MBTA rather than only offering small discounts on passes. These actions can make Boston more affordable to explore for students from every background.
It is likely that some level of socioeconomic stratification will persist as long as income inequality does. Furthermore, socioeconomic stratification is rarely the result of intentional malice or exclusion.
However, socioeconomic stratification is more than just a metric. It is the loss of friendships that could have been deep and profound, but for the friction of logistics. It is missing late-night conversations and board games that never happen because two friends live miles away. It is something that hurts everyone regardless of their background, by artificially narrowing our opportunities for socialization.
Thus, we should all work hard to make Tufts a place where friendship and socialization are shaped far more by connection rather than the amount of money one has to spend.
