Op-Ed: Timothee Chalamet or Hannah Montana? Kylie Jenner's Boyfriend Wants Best of Both Worlds in Senate HELP Testimony
On Saturday, January 13 at 12:20 PM, star of blockbuster film “Wonka” and boyfriend of Kylie Jenner, Timothee Chalamet, gave a testimony to senators in correlation to the discussion on colleges' inclusion of equality and equity.
Chalamet is a proud alumni of LaGuardia High School and a Columbia University dropout. His sister and mother both attended LaGuardia, officially making him a legacy student. During a surprise visit to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the renowned actor offered his perspective on implementing affirmative action with the admissions process.
Senate HELP is tackling big questions in regards to fair representation and affirmative action for socioeconomic status in the education system. In a time of hot-blooded debate, Chalamet arrived just in time to aid the discussion in no way, shape or form.
“I say, ‘Can I get a Venti Iced Latte?’ and they say to me ‘Well do you want either vanilla syrup or cinnamon sweet cream cold foam’ and I say ‘yes’,” Chalamet said during his testimony. This pretentious analogy is Chalamets’ attempt at showcasing his indifference towards affirmative action, while quite literally 31 seconds before expressing being a “big proponent” of affirmative action.
It appears that Chalamet has embraced his character Laurie in Little Women, exhibiting a lack of direction and indecisiveness. This inconclusive stance on equalizing opportunities for marginalized groups sets the senate in regression as Chalamet holds power and easily influences pop culture.
To further the actor's naivete, within his opening statement he accredited his acceptance to Columbia to a fantasy, discounting hard work because his reality is the benefits of privilege. In his testimony, the actor said, “So on the one hand, I dare to dream, and I find the top universities of our nation. And I got it.”
In a flawed admissions system, the scale tips for people like Chalamet. People of legacy, wealth and white privilege do not need to concern themselves with supporting affirmative action because the system works in their favor. Not to mention, the inclusion and support of cultural, ethnic and racial diversity promotes creativity on campuses with a holistic approach.
When delving deeper and questioning Chalamet on what he has to say to those against outreach efforts for minority groups in the admissions process, in an exclusive interview, he blatantly responded, “I think you should stop what you’re doing and then start again tomorrow”.
Time is expendable to Timothee, just as his money and ultimately others' education are. Systemic discrimination thrives under the ignorance of powerful people that are too selfish to combat preferential treatment.
“I would like [the committee] to really see the best of both sides” Chalamet answers naively. Sorry, Timothee, the best of both worlds only exists on sitcoms.
This article was written by Lyla Merk.
