The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Why Are Young Feminists So Angry?

Posted on | August 29, 2016 | Comments Off on Why Are Young Feminists So Angry?

Perhaps because so many young men are pathetic babies:

Young men are now nearly twice as likely as young women to live with their parents; 59 percent of guys ages 18 to 24 and 19 percent of 25-to-34-year-olds live at home. . . .
From 1960 to 2009, the number of working-age men with full-time jobs fell from 83 percent to 66 percent. . . .
Sociologists cite five “markers” or “milestones” that have traditionally defined our notion of adulthood: finishing school, moving away from the parental home, becoming financially independent, getting married, and having a child. In 1960, 65 percent of men had ticked off all five by age 30; by 2000, only a third had.

That’s from a 2012 Philadelphia Magazine article, which includes a profile of one typical Millennial specimen:

Connor, 24, graduated from Penn State in May of last year. It took him five years instead of four to finish his journalism degree, so he has about a hundred thou in student loans. . . .
The move from Happy Valley back to his childhood bedroom wasn’t entirely smooth. “My dad struggles to get it a little,” Connor says. “He’s an engineer. He went to a military academy. He had a wife and kid by the time he was my age.” . . .
When Connor was still in school, sometimes he’d encounter friends of his parents who’d press their business cards on him: “They’d say, ‘I’m in insurance — call me when you get out of school.’” Connor threw the cards away. He says he’d rather wait tables for the rest of his life than work in sales. Besides, he has a buddy from college who’s made it in L.A., in films. The buddy’s success validates Connor’s approach to life: “You have to have faith in your intangible abilities.”

The thing that gets me about this is, $100,000 in student loans to get a journalism degree at a state university? Are you kidding me?

In-state tuition at Penn State is $17,514 a year. OK, maybe Connor didn’t qualify for any scholarships or student aid, and Penn State is 170 miles from West Chester, which means Connor also had to pay for room and board, therefore . . .? DON’T GO TO PENN STATE, YOU IDIOT!

In-state tuition at West Chester University of Pennsylvania is only $9,144 a year, and you could commute from home and major in Communication Studies. Sure, this is not living the campus dream — football Saturdays, frat parties, etc. — but is that what you’re going to school for?

Piling up tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt to get a liberal arts degree is foolish. There is always a smarter alternative.

Middle-class kids need to learn to see through the status/prestige factor that makes them think they have to attend a big-name school. Let the rich parents send their kids to Harvard or Stanford, and stop thinking you must attend the most prestigious school that will admit you. Prestige ain’t going to pay the bills. Unless they’re throwing all kinds of scholarship money at you, scratch them off your list. Here’s an idea: Suppose you’re like Connor. You’ve got the grades and SAT scores to attend Penn State, but the money is a problem. What to do? Enroll at the nearest community college, make top grades, get your associates degree and then transfer to Penn State for your final two years. You’re saving yourself thousands of dollars. Isn’t that the smart thing to do? And you are smart, aren’t you?




 

Category: Education

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