POISON IVY by Evan Mandery is subtitled "How Elite Colleges Divide Us" and its publication seems appropriately timed to coincide with both the frenzied application season and the recent Supreme Court arguments on affirmative action. Mandery is a Harvard graduate and college professor, but his upbringing was more middle class than that of many Harvard students where he notes that the "the average family income ... [for] the class of 2013 was $505,000 per year." POISON IVY focuses on economic inequality and is published by The New Press whose stated mission is to "promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of the issues vital to our democracy and to a more equitable world." In it, Manderly argues that "the United States maintains an apartheid educational system" and questions: "What if America looks the way it does because elite colleges look the way they do?" He offers both statistical evidence and anecdotes, many from his students at City University of New York (CUNY). In particular, Manderly contrasts the opportunities between private, elite schools and public universities. He also notes inherent biases in hiring within the legal profession (quoting Supreme Court Justice Scalia), investment banking, and consulting industries. Another section references work by Kirsten Hextrum (Special Admission) which looks at who really benefits from combining elite academics and elite athletics. POISON IVY contains a list of recommended reading, extensive notes and sources, and a helpful index with notations for figures and tables. Overall, this is an eye-opening read and will be of immense interest to our students who research education and income inequality. Some related shorter pieces include work by Raj Chetty and John Friedman, Sophie Callcott's guest essay titled "There’s still one big trick for getting into an elite college" and Ben Sasse's commentary on the purpose of a university. Interested readers should consider pairing POISON IVY with 2014's Excellent Sheep or the more recent After the Ivory Tower Falls.
4.5 stars

Links to shorter pieces referenced above:
https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/mrc_summary.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/01/opinion/school-private-college.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ben-sasse-on-the-university-florida-gators-purpose-ideas-disagreement-debate-leaders-knowledge-higher-education-college-free-speech-11667397078

As I began reading this book, I thought that it simply confirmed everything I suspected and had read about the inequities in our higher education system. But as I continued, the author got into the weeds and I found even MORE proof in far different areas than I had considered previously. This book would be useful for anyone working for more equity in education because it is filled with statistics, reports, and information that could be used by nonprofits to request grants. All the work is presented here. But, it is also a very readable and personal account as the author relays stories of students and others that he's interacted with.

If you've any interest at all in this topic, you already know that the ivy is pretty poisoned. This will both affirm and enhance your understanding of how systemic and endemic the poison is.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I hope it finds its way to every high school guidance counselor's bookshelf!