For many young people around the nation, college was more of an expectation than a dream. That way of thinking is changing each day as our country dives head first into a recession. The New York Times reported that juniors and seniors who had plans on going to well-known universities for top-of-the-line educations are second-guessing the paths they once envisioned for themselves.
Youth Radio talked to Mia-Sarah Abdula, a junior at an art school in Manhattan, New York, called Fashion Industries. She once dreamed of going to Columbia or UC Berkeley, but now she’s thinking that it would be more realistic to go to a state school or a community college. Her mother was one of 11,000 people to get laid off at Citigroup since June. She had been working there for 24 years, and is the family’s sole bread winner since Mia-Sarah’s father passed away when she was little. She says that at least for now, she is thinking of spending her first two years at a cheaper school, and trying to transfer to the school of her choice after that.
My own girlfriend, who has been planning on starting at community college for a while, recently had to take out an emergency loan just to start classes and buy books for her first semester. Community colleges are supposed to be designed for anybody to easily get the education they deserve; it isn’t supposed to be that difficult to get an education.
Teenagers who may be the first in the family to go any college at all might feel discouraged enough to forget about their goals with all these road blocks that keep getting tossed in front of them. And young people like Jane who have worked their butts off all these years* to get in to the university of their choice feel the pain as well. It’s not their fault, but our up-and-coming generations are definitely feeling the repercussions of our economy.
*"To work your butt off" is a slang term that means to work really, really hard at something. "Butt" is another word for "bottom." It's not a harsh swear word, but should be used only in a very informal situation.
1 comment:
Hi,
Just discovered your blog, and greatly enjoy it. I'd like to comment on this issue. I live in Pennsylvania but attend a small (~3,000 enrollment) community college in Arizona. I fly to Pennsylvania for summers and Christmas vacations to work, while I live on my college's campus during the school year. This may seem financially stupid but it works well for me, given the extremely cheap nature of the college, and given that I plan to start living in Arizona full-time next year.
I have noticed that every time I return to PA, the recession crept up on them a bit more - shopping centers are less full, even considering the time of year. People are working fewer hours. People tend to drive compact sedans, rather than SUVs.
However, every time I fly to AZ, it seems the recession affect the citizens less. Shopping centers are packed, even in low-population areas. People drive massive SUVs and pickups. The kids have no problems with income, judging by their clothes and gadgets. Heck, my car is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) cars on campus, and it's a 1991.
I suppose geography can explain this phenomenon, but it still keeps me wondering. Do you have any idea?
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