[philipkglass]

The rules about books, food, and current events could just as well come from "how to fit in with graduate students in the humanities (and sometimes other disciplines)." Which might explain why I and my friends never "coded" as poor when I was in graduate school, even though I was technically living below the federal poverty line for a few years.

[kd0amg]

It's sort of a weird position and a good example for illustrating the distinction between social and economic standing. Grad school often feels like an extended exercise in class-passing.