Ever wondered what hazing was like at an Ivy League institution? TikToker @your_finance_brother shares his experience rushing fraternities at Duke University and tons of other things that happened to him that were borderline bullying. A common thread among the embarrassing experiences was a class divide between him and his fellow students.
Universities are a melting pot of classes and cultures from all over. For many undergraduate students, universities may be the first place they meet someone from a completely different background than themselves. The TikToker seems to be the first person from a working-class background that many at Duke University had met.
Rolex Smashing
In a video with 1.3 million views and 143,800 likes, the TikToker immediately launches into stories that highlight the class divide.
“During frat rush, I was asked multiple times at multiple frats what my dad did for a living, and when I said that he worked in a TV repair shop, I was cut from all those frats,” he says. “I learned now that the correct answer is that he’s an entrepreneur. And at the frats I did proceed on, one of them had a Rolex smashing competition. I was also cut from that one.”
Surprisingly, it seems that Rolex smashing is a tradition among several universities. According to SayNoToHazing.com, ruining expensive things is a popular hazing tactic.
“According to a current student [at Columbia University], to rush prestigious, moneyed co-ed frat St. Anthony’s, male pledges have to buy a ticket to Hong Kong and burn it, while female pledges have to buy a Tiffany necklace and throw it in the Hudson River — to prove that they’re stupidly rich. Or the alternative: Smashing your Rolex,” the site says.
Class Clashing at Universities
The TikToker continues to explain tons of other classist experiences he had at Duke. He remembers people ghosting him after finding out he was on financial aid and a girl at a party being surprised he had made it to Duke, even though he went to a public school in the South for high school.
He shares another shocking example of wealth, where a student’s car was towed. Instead of retrieving the car from the tow site, she just bought a new car.
It shouldn’t be assumed that this is an issue exclusive to Duke. Class clashing happens at tons of universities. Not only can having money get you into elite universities more easily because you can pay the full price, but it also affords you a certain amount of social capital.
“Money talk is just the tip of the proverbial social class identity iceberg,” says the article, “What You Need to Know About the Reality of Social Class on Campus,” from ModernCampus.com. The article talks about how it’s not just about the money, but also the different kinds of advantages or “capital” that money can give you, such as the following:
- Cultural Capital
- Social Capital
- Aspirational Capital
- Linguistic Capital
- Familial Capital
- Resistant Capital
- Navigational Capital
While the TikToker found a way to make up for the financial capital he was missing via financial aid to attend Duke, what he couldn’t get was the social perks that come with being from a wealthy background.
Viewers Weigh in on Man’s Duke University Experience
“When did duke become so gatekeepy,” asks one comment.
“Buying an entire new car after being towed is next level,” laughs another.
“Sounds like a nightmare – so sorry you went thru that F duke,” says another.
“Lol me at Yale whenever I said my mom was a general manager at McDonalds,” someone else says.
“Now imagine if you were black at duke…” chimes in another.
All in all, it seems that the TikToker has found a way to see the bright side. He starts the video by saying, “You think you can hurt me? I survived four years at Duke.”
AllHipHop has reached out to @your_finance_brother for comment via email and TikTok direct message and to Duke via email. We will update this story if either party responds.
@your_finance_brother ♬ original sound – Your Finance Brother