For decades, Yale has inspired stories. The hallowed halls of this institution serve as a muse for generations of creative thinkers, sparking popular shows, movies, novels and nonfiction. 

However, Yale’s internal workings are not only inspiring to outsiders. Current events ripple through the student community, shaping the stories we tell ourselves about what this institution means. Sometimes, these events force us to tackle deep-rooted issues. 

Over the past four years, the story of the Yale experience has been one of betrayal, protest, internal conflict, and global crisis. Yet, in the midst of all of this turmoil, Yale remains grounded by its distinct community: a cohort of intelligent, powerful young people determined to change the world.

So basically, we’re all living in a Marvel movie. 

Don’t believe me? Take “Captain America: Civil War” for example. In the film, Captain America and his best friend Bucky Barnes are part of the same insulation where they train and fight together. But when Bucky becomes brainwashed and goes on a killing spree, harming innocent citizens, Captain America decides he must be stopped. 

Let’s reframe this. In 2019, Yale graduate Brett Kavanaugh was nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court. Hundreds of Yale students sat out of class and traveled to the Senate office buildings in D.C. in protest. These students argued that Kavanaugh’s status as an alumnus did not make him worth defending; he needed to be held accountable for his reprehensible actions. 

The central conflict of “Captain America: Civil War” parallels this historical event. It involves a split in the allegiance of the Avengers, as some members of the group make bad decisions while trying to reach their goals. Like the Kavanaugh incident, this causes conflict among a core group, leading to infighting. 

This same phenomenon applies to the Varsity Blues Scandal, which broke in 2019. The former head coach of the Yale women’s soccer team was convicted of accepting bribes from wealthy parents who wanted to designate their children as part of the team, thereby guaranteeing their admission to Yale. These desperate parents might have had a noble goal — getting their kids into college — but their illegal methods of achieving that goal, similar to Captain America and his allies, ended them in prison.

Yale’s parallels to the Marvel universe don’t stop there. In the 2019-20 school year, Yale (and the rest of the globe) was swept into a battle against a fearsome and unrelenting enemy threat. 

That just about captures the plot of “Avengers: Infinity War.” The film opens with the powerful villain Thanos, an alien determined to bring order to the universe through lethal means. Though the Avengers try to thwart Thanos, they lose at every turn. 

The Yale administration experienced similar difficulties in their fight against Covid-19: though implementing strict anti-Covid policies, cold weather and lack of immunity still resulted in students getting sick. 

Huge chunks of the Yale population vanished. Yale students were sent home, and many chose to take gap years. Swaths of familiar faces vanished, seemingly overnight. That’s precisely what happened in “Infinity War.” With one snap of his fingers, Thanos killed half of the population of the universe, leaving little hope left for the Avengers. By the end of “Infinity War,” the Avengers had sustained severe losses, and Thanos possessed the most powerful magical object in the universe: the Infinity Gauntlet. The outlook for the Avengers, like the outlook for Yalies at the end of 2020, was bleak. 

In 2020-21, Yale began to return to normal. However, there was still tension caused by the pandemic. Sophomores and first-years were forced to take semesters off-campus, and all Yale students attended classes online. In the midst of this, Yale was forced to confront its institutional failings, especially in its mental health department. The isolation caused by online classes, lack of extracurriculars, and lack of peer interaction prompted students to protest Yale’s lack of a concrete mental health support system. 

In “Iron Man III,” lead character Tony Stark must also battle mental health issues following traumatic events and isolation. Furthermore, Stark faces an elusive, taunting enemy called the Mandarin who seems to evade Stark at every turn. This parallels the Yale administration striving to respond to an ever-changing COVID situation. Despite this, Stark, like Yale students, was able to make the best out of a disastrous time and emerge stronger than ever.  

Yale finally returned to a “new normal” in the 2021-22 school year. But every class experienced shifts — students now formed a vast range of ages, all jumbled up from gap years and semesters. The class of 2025 was the largest class yet, swollen by students who postponed their admission. 

The clashing of age groups at the beginning of Yale’s school year was eerily similar to the opening premise of “Spiderman: Far From Home,” where high school students and students newly returned from the five-year “blip” caused by Thanos were forced to readjust to normal life. 

In “Far From Home,” Peter Parker — aka the Spiderman — travels to Europe with his classmates on a school trip, where they are attacked by terrible creatures called the Elementals. Absent from authority, Peter must utilize his creative thinking and the EDITH technology passed down by Iron Man to defeat the creatures. Navigating the powerful and sometimes frustrating technology proves to be a challenge. 

Yale students and faculty experienced a similar challenge transitioning from fully remote learning to hybridized classes with options for remote learning. However, technological setbacks diminished, and students made the best of their learning opportunities, just like Peter eventually figured out how to use the EDITH technology. 

Before Peter can defeat the Elementals, he must first confront Quentin Beck, a supposedly supernatural figure whose incredible power is awe-inspiring. Gradually, however, Peter realizes that Beck’s authority is questionable and that Beck is behind the Elemental attacks. 

Peter discovers that the threat posed by Elementals is just an elaborate illusion — just like the November bomb scare on Yale’s campus. Despite the intrigue and challenge, “Far From Home,” like the latest school year, ends with a hopeful promise of a better future as we continue to adjust to a “new normal.” 

Our Yale experience is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves. So, those stories might as well be superhero tales. Though this time can be scary and full of challenges, Yale gives us an opportunity to be intentional and create meaningful change, just as shown by Marvel movies.