Reply to NY Times on new application essays dabbling in so-called "identities"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have no idea what it means not to partake in "identification".  Are you saying that your kid refuses to answer questions about their gender, or religion, or nationality, or family status or hobbies?   [/quote]
You're lumping a few things together here, but yes, you're right. My kid refuses to answer questions about all of these things unless they are necessary for a legitimate purpose. For instance, a medical doctor might need to know about their biological sex to correctly diagnose symptoms. Otherwise, it's nobody's business, and especially not some random AO's.

[quote=Anonymous]Everyone I know identifies as something.  [/quote]
Get around more and talk to people outside your "bubble." Not everyone is constantly obsessed about "gender," not everyone follows a religion, and few people can choose their nationality.
Many are fed up with the constant emphasis given to these by some.
[/quote]

You're saying a kid who is good enough to get into Harvard doesn't have some kind of community they belong to, like maybe they're obsessed with something since childhood, say rocks and geology, so they identify with other nerdy kids? Maybe they identify as a musician because their entire life centers around their love of music and playing instruments. Maybe they identify as the caretaker in their home because they are from a one parent family and their parent works long hours to pay the bills, so they have stepped up to take over chores especially for the younger siblings. Frankly, if you don't have something to say about yourself that makes people want to know more, you probably don't belong in a school like Harvard no matter how high your SAT score is. There are way more kids scoring 1600 than Harvard can admit. Good to have a way to wean out those who don't have something interesting to contribute in one way or another.[/quote]

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