De Facto Exclusion: Social Stratification at Eleganza

At Eleganza, attendees come to see and to be seen, dressing to the nines and taking pictures to document their attendance. Yet what struck me most when I attended Eleganza on April 25^th was not the impressive dancing or models’ clothes but rather the social exclusion and class stratification that comes with attending the show.
Eleganza ticket sales and seating are at the root of its problematic social dynamics. Ticketing is tiered, with more expensive tickets corresponding to better seating. While this is common practice for most shows and events, Eleganza is different because the best, most expensive seats in the VIP section are only offered in bundles to student groups, many of which are final clubs, fraternities, and sororities. These social clubs are exclusive: male and female final clubs select specific students to participate in their “punch” process and then cut people through various selection rounds, while students choose to rush Greek organizations but are ultimately selected to be in a certain group. They also charge hundreds of dollars in dues each semester, making them inaccessible to students without significant disposable income, and they are officially unrecognized by Harvard College because they exclude members based on gender.
VIP section tickets are also offered to other student organizations. Preeti Srinivasan, an Eleganza producer, told the HPR that any group on campus can block off a certain number of VIP seats for their members, and that the board actively reaches out to a wide variety of cultural, social, and other organizations about reserving these seats. Srinivasan stated that this year, certain sports teams and other College-recognized groups also reserved VIP seats. In spite of the Eleganza board’s concerted outreach efforts, she said that unrecognized social groups like final clubs and Greek organizations are often highly represented because “they’re very good at getting together people and then paying us first” and because many have reserved a VIP section in the past.
Cost may also contribute to the overrepresentation of these groups: VIP tickets cost $30, while Preferred General Admission tickets cost $20 and General Admission tickets cost $15. By comparison, most student events and shows cost $8-$10. For example, this year the Senior Class Committee originally discussed reserving a VIP section  but ultimately opted to reserve a Preferred General Admission section for seniors because that price was more accessible to more students.
Srinivasan acknowledged that “there’s a common perception that … [the seats] seem socially stratified,” and she affirmed the Eleganza board’s commitment to making this section more diverse through active outreach to many student groups and to the president of every campus cultural organization. Although this recognition and commitment to diversity is important and reassuring, the current structure of ticket sales creates de facto, class-based divisions. Institutional knowledge of reserving a section and the yearly hype surrounding Eleganza allows selective social groups to consistently reserve sections. Furthermore, their group dues indicate that their members are more likely able to afford $30 tickets. Since VIP section tickets are already sold out when tickets officially go on sale, students that are not part of these social organizations or other student groups that reserved a section cannot purchase VIP tickets. Adding insult to injury, students that receive SEF funding—meaning that Harvard covers their entrance to events because their yearly family income falls under a certain amount—can only have General Admission tickets fully covered by SEF and must make up the remainder of the cost for VIP or Preferred General Admission tickets on their own. Although this is a result of Harvard ticketing and SEF policies, it reinforces how already-existing structures and class dynamics at Harvard visibly manifest themselves at Eleganza. Therefore the most prominent seats in the venue—which are constructed as the most desirable through advertising, location, and the goody bag each VIP attendee took home—are primarily, though inadvertently, accessible to those students who are part of selective, wealthy organizations.
Though social exclusion begins with purchasing tickets, the differences between sections deepen once you arrive at Lavietes Pavilion to see the show. VIP and Preferred General Admission ticket holders enter through a main door, while General Admission attendees must enter through a side door. Eleganza producers stated that this is due to logistical concerns and safety codes; yet as an attendee it seemed pointless, since both doors lead to the same place, and it reinforces the exclusive, divided nature of the event. Seats in the VIP section surround the stage, while Preferred General Admission and General Admission students sit in the bleachers, looking down at the stage and the VIP section. When the show starts, those in the VIP section defy producers’ instructions to stay seated and rush the stage, partially blocking the view of people behind them in the VIP section and the bleachers. This social stratification is hard to ignore.
Ironically, Eleganza aims to celebrate the diversity of Harvard students and their forms of expression. Diversity is one of its three foundational pillars, along with charity and fashion, and Eleganza selects models that represent the diversity of the student body. As stated on their website, Eleganza was founded 21 years ago by Harvard Black Community and Student Theatre (Black C.A.S.T.), which aims to involve students of color in theater and showcase performance art from the African diaspora. The show, whose proceeds go to the Boston Center for Teen Empowerment, opened with a teenager’s spoken word piece that highlighted challenges still facing people of color, like police brutality against black men in America and the troubling nature of “professionalism.” It closed with a performance from the Black Men’s Forum Step Team. Yet even with these powerful examples of the presence of people of color at Harvard and beyond, the show perpetuated exclusive class-based policies that, on a larger scale, continue to plague people of color in America. Although this event promotes its celebration of diversity, its divided audience ignores the role of socio-economic class and its intersection with race.
Though Eleganza’s current ticketing and seating structures have unintentionally made class divisions directly visible, Srinivasan stated that the Eleganza board is strongly dedicated to inclusivity and diversity, “which we do very much on stage but which we also want to do in the audience.” She said that the board is working to improve this with changes that may come as early as next year. Eleganza’s recognition of the problematic nature of its seating chart is encouraging. These upcoming changes will hopefully allow attention to fall away from where people sit and to focus solely on the show’s exciting dancing, charity work, and important mission of showcasing diversity at Harvard and the art of people of color.