Senior government and politics major
Until the early 2000s, college was about getting an education. Just like in Toy Story 3, parents sent their kids off to become knowledgeable, beautiful and educated people.
Then the economy crashed, new graduates were suddenly worth peanuts and college became the first step of a long, punishing scramble up the concave cliff face in the way of reaching a stable job.
Today, college isn’t meant for enlightenment. It’s a test of competence. Like how the SAT is a test of a student’s ability to study, the college experience is a test of a student’s ability to work.
After graduation, we’re still not competent enough. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates the number of people receiving bachelor’s degrees is increasing dramatically and outpacing population growth. Companies are relying on internships to set students apart. So I can hardly argue that college is for getting a job when it doesn’t actually get you a job.
I can see how college can feel unfulfilling: When I thought about what classes I would like to take in college, I decided at some point that I wanted to take a writing course. I thought, “I always do well at writing, but I want college to make me perfect.”
Instead, after taking a professional writing course, I don’t know if I ever want to set foot in Tawes Hall again. I became a worse writer because the expectations were so low. It was a demoralizing experience, like watching Captain America apply for Canadian citizenship.
It’s possible our expectations for college are too high. For example, the only scene I remember after reading A Raisin in the Sun in high school is when Walter promises that one day he will see his son sitting on the floor with “the catalogues of all the great schools” in the world around him. He promises his son that whatever school he decides to go to and whatever he decides to be, he will be able to achieve.
I don’t feel like a good writer yet. I’m surprised I can do my own laundry, let alone write 500 comprehensible words for The Diamondback.
The reality is that college is what students ask for. If we all wanted to become deeply knowledgeable about passive voice, colleges deliver. Instead, we’re looking for the most efficient path toward a job, so Dead Poets Societies make way for blow-off classes and cursory examinations of potentially deep topics.
The economy makes it difficult for colleges to lead students to jobs, so we’re doing grunt work to do grunt work and nobody is happy.
Still, I’ll be honest, if I had the choice between a class that would increase my odds of being accepted for any job by 10 percent and an otherwise meaningful class that would absolutely not, I’d take the former. I would selfishly and unashamedly make education a more soulless place. I would, and everyone else has, and here we are.
