Here's my take on it, and I may be generalizing, but from what I've seen it's heavily a regional thing.

There are a lot of snobbish people here and at other UC's who think it's "right" to follow one thing and one thing only, which is STEM. This is heavily due to do the fact that all the big corporations and industries are in California. Is that a good thing? Maybe for some people it is, but it also breeds competition and a very linear view of non-STEM people.

After moving to San Diego a while back from the east coast, I've noticed that there is a very monolithic culture that exists here where people just seem like they are doing the same thing and following the rat-race of STEM, even going as far as to criticize non-STEM majors. But when I was living on the east coast, people and professors there pride their non-stem majors, and I loved it, people passionately asked about their studies and it was eye-opening and always unoque/interesting to talk about.

I'm a STEM major, but I recently took a class on urban and social theory and it was more important than any other STEM class I've taken this quarter.

I honestly don't know why I see a monolithic culture that exists here and possibly other places in California, and I could be exaggerating, but this is just something I've observed.

And to prove my point further about the linear view some people have about non-STEM people, with the TA strikes that were happening a majority of the TAs and people protesting were non-STEM majors. Where else is that kind of stuff happening besides the UC campuses? The TAs I've seen on the east coast who teach non-stem classes are well-respected and are provided with accommodations, and this was enunciated by countless TAs who I've spoke with.

This view may be a stretch for some people, but I think that just goes to show that it truly is a regional thing because California is such an industry-revolving and rich state that some STEM majors pride themselves on this monolithic culture and only care about profit instead of a diverse education system.