While focusing on the next paper, test or quiz, sometimes we as students forget to ask ourselves, “Why are we here?” Not “here” as in, on earth, in this universe, but more simply — here at college.

Many choose to pursue higher education so they can graduate with hopes of more highly-paid jobs. For slightly fewer people, it is in hopes to educate themselves and enrich their brains with worldly learning in the one-stop shopping experience that is college. Each person is allowed his or her own personal motivations for scholarly study; however, one motivation we shouldn’t feel is that of making ourselves better than other people. Bettering yourself is fine — it is what a college education is all about. But no piece of paper, no amount of studying and no amount of tuition dollars annually drained can make you an inherently better person than someone else.

What can be seen arising from the trends of higher education is a sort of classism based on levels of education, and it is against that which we must push. Classism has emerged from all parts of society — race, religion, culture, language — and now it is emerging from education. Perhaps it has to do with titles acquired through levels of learning: B.A., M.D., Ph.D., etc. But being “Dr. This or That” doesn’t elevate someone higher than a person of another profession.

For example, those who choose to go to a trade school or straight into the workforce are not inferior to the person who just graduated from eight long years of schooling. And this isn’t just the ever-condescending “the world needs ditch diggers” argument. Let’s say you go to school to be a computer engineer, a teacher or an accountant; if that program and those skills were available without enduring four long years of schooling, would you take it? Most people would.

For many, it is not a matter of motivation, or even what can be afforded. For many of those who choose not to go on to college or university, it’s about knowing what you want. Instead of lauding ourselves with false honors, we should respect people regardless of profession or scholarly degree.

Additionally, in the greater scheme of things, going to college right out of high school doesn’t actually make that much sense for everyone. You can always apply for school later in life. If you are making the wrong decisions now, you can’t get back those years or thousands of dollars spent on an education in your youth.

This is not arguing for or against college educations, nor is it arguing that students are disrespectful or naive. All it is saying is that we need to be careful to keep that educational classism out of our society. Differentiating between levels of education is not in itself harmful, but as has been seen countless times in human history, class differentiation inevitably leads to discrimination. Once we have conjured a “reason” to treat people a different or worse way, it is hard to shake it off.

For purposes of economy and government, we may never be able to do away with labels like blue- or white-collar, or the “working class.” In some ways, these categories help society move smoothly. What we can do is try not to let these differentiations tamper with our judgment or evaluations of other human beings.

Just as we college students have individual motivations for our time in a university, so, too, does everyone else have motivation for whatever path he or she chooses. Instead of creating meaningless ways to elevate ourselves above others for the sake of inflated egos, we need to understand that the framed diploma hanging on your office wall doesn’t make you any more than you are: human.