.

[TheBumble]

I knew plenty of people in college who had little to no extra cash but I can honestly say I didn't know one person who struggled to eat. I can't even say the possibility of that ever crossed my mind. Eating and drinking things that weren't good for us was the problem.

If you have a son or daughter at college and are worried about them being able to eat... make sure they have your phone number.

 

[LionDeNittany]

yikes....we've had good luck with the current kids but most are no where near as dedicated. In my youth, it was a matter of survival. today, kids seem to feel that there is another job just around the corner. Most want to make $50k per year, have high speed internet and three quares. With that they are good to go. They seem to respond with having more flexible vacay time, social activities tied to work (leagues, after hour social events) and cool workspaces. I suspect, once they have a mortgage and a kid, things will change. (although I do notice the desire for home ownership isn't there). They have also been drilled that charity is way cool, so I try to connect customer service to it being a 'charitable' endeavor of some sort. Seems to work.

Regardless, school is simply a vetting process. I don't feel like I've ever used much formal learning from school but feel the process of learning how to navigate through hurdles to get stuff done was invaluable. Life balance with school work, entertainment, eating, second jobs, etc. was just part of the gig. On won hand, I understand the notion of the experience, but on the other, it is a vetting process to see who has the drive to succeed and who doesn't.

This is a good post.

I overpay relatively... so it's not a pay issue.

It is simply a personal issue with kids. Like you said, they don't feel they need the or any job.

LdN

 

[tboyer]

LOL. I took my daughter on a college tour at Georgetown a few years ago, and the tour guide was proudly pointing out how sumptuous everything was -- to the point of taking us to the dining hall to show us the "Prime Rib Bar." I am not kidding, there was a Prime Rib Bar.

On the way out I asked my kid, "I wonder where the ramen bar is." (She didn't get the joke at all.)

But that is kind of what's happened to higher education.

There aren't too many kids starving at Georgetown, but there are a lot of kids graduating with a truckload of debt.

Well said. Another interesting thing that recently occurred. Was on a college tour (not PSU) recently with my daughter at a major university. The person giving the tour (this school's version of Lion Ambassador's giving a tour, although they did not walk backwards) must have have used the word 'transgender' and 'inclusion' at least a dozen times on the tour, to the point it was obvious it was drilled into their head from the university to stress this unmercifully. During the entire time we were there both in the formal power point presentation and tour, not one mention ever of tuition costs, room and board costs, job programs, etc....ample slides though on traveling abroad (which only had in the fine print that was an extra $10,000).

 

[tboyer]

I knew plenty of people in college who had little to no extra cash but I can honestly say I didn't know one person who struggled to eat. I can't even say the possibility of that ever crossed my mind. Eating and drinking things that weren't good for us was the problem.

If you have a son or daughter at college and are worried about them being able to eat... make sure they have your phone number.

Don't want to sound too insensitive, but one of the things kids learn at college is how to budget their funds so they don't go hungry.

If you spend too much money at the bars in January, come May you will be scrounging for old ramen packets and the Spaghetti-Os that someone left behind several years ago. This is not necessarily poverty; sometimes it is college kids learning how to handle money.

A little hunger really isn't a bad thing. It's part of the human condition and everybody should experience it -- just like everybody should experience minimum-wage service jobs. But of course that is different from true poverty.

Students who could demonstrate real poverty used to be able to apply for food stamps, but Reagan put a stop to that.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

LOL. I took my daughter on a college tour at Georgetown a few years ago, and the tour guide was proudly pointing out how sumptious everything was -- to the point of taking us to the dining hall to show us the "Prime Rib Bar." I am not kidding, there was a Prime Rib Bar.

On the way out I asked my kid, "I wonder where the ramen bar is." (She didn't get the joke at all.)

But that is kind of what's happened to higher education.

There aren't too many kids starving at Georgetown, but there are a lot of kids graduating with a truckload of debt.

This is more tangential, but goes to the culture of food at universities and how/why schools use it as a recruiting tool. Additionally, Malcolm Gladwell is always worth a listen...

http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/05-food-fight

Bowdoin College in Maine and Vassar College in upstate New York are roughly the same size. They compete for the same students. Both have long traditions of academic excellence. But one of those schools is trying hard to close the gap between rich and poor in American society—and paying a high price for its effort. The other is making that problem worse—and reaping rewards as a result.

 

[jreacher.1]

LOL. I took my daughter on a college tour at Georgetown a few years ago, and the tour guide was proudly pointing out how sumptious everything was -- to the point of taking us to the dining hall to show us the "Prime Rib Bar." I am not kidding, there was a Prime Rib Bar.

On the way out I asked my kid, "I wonder where the ramen bar is." (She didn't get the joke at all.)

But that is kind of what's happened to higher education.

There aren't too many kids starving at Georgetown, but there are a lot of kids graduating with a truckload of debt.

That is their choice. They want the perks and the debt associated with it.

 

[massimoManca II]

I had some very difficult times as a freshman

Dude, this is about food**

 

[Tweedbear]

In the middle 50's I lived in the Watts Hall and had a friend who lived on the sufferance of others. His best friend from high school split the mattress from the bed and one slept on the box spring. We gave him our meal cards if we weren't going to use then.
He had a couple of jobs but the income was less than 50 cents an hour.
He was a good student who studied hard and hardly played.
Graduated and was a contributor to society who never forgot and always had a hand out to help others.
No family money just a desire to do better.
Bet he had hungry days.

 

[PearlSUJam]

I recall buying "Finast" brand boxed mac and cheese, which I think was 30 cents a box (in 1993-94). I'd get two meals out of a box, so if you include the milk and butter needed to make it, that was about 25 a meal. I'd eat that 3 or 4 times a week. As a result, I couldn't eat mac and cheese for about 15 year after that, but I wasn't hungry at PSU despite not having a lot of money.

Mac and cheese was for the rich folk. I ate ramen noodles for lunch and dinner for 2 years suplimented by Acme pizza ($5.00 a pie) and beer on weekends (weekends began Thursday after class and ended Monday morning, with Friday classes optional).

 

[olelion]

Dude, this is about food**

That's what I was talking about. Some difficult times with hunger during my freshman year.

 

[PSU2UNC]

Strangely, I actually ate at the Bowdoin caf, the Bates caf, Amherst College caf and the Tufts cafs when we were on the lax recruiting trail. Gladwell nailed it!

Those schools are 1800-2000 students and their endowments are in the Billion+ range, bigger than PSU.
The “organic” prime rib bar is big thing. Also most of these schools now have their own local farms that raise fresh organic produce and meats.

I saw Gladwell speak last month at an awards dinner. He was a good speaker but I think went off the rails a bit with some of his comments on higher education (e.g. he seems to think that by not allowing all kids who deserve to to go Harvard to go to Harvard we are missing out as a society; my view is that while Harvard is a fine school, you can get a great education and change the world by going to lots of schools not named Harvard).

 

[Nitt1300]

 

[kgilbert78]

I

yikes....we've had good luck with the current kids but most are no where near as dedicated. In my youth, it was a matter of survival. today, kids seem to feel that there is another job just around the corner. Most want to make $50k per year, have high speed internet and three quares. With that they are good to go. They seem to respond with having more flexible vacay time, social activities tied to work (leagues, after hour social events) and cool workspaces. I suspect, once they have a mortgage and a kid, things will change. (although I do notice the desire for home ownership isn't there). They have also been drilled that charity is way cool, so I try to connect customer service to it being a 'charitable' endeavor of some sort. Seems to work.

Regardless, school is simply a vetting process. I don't feel like I've ever used much formal learning from school but feel the process of learning how to navigate through hurdles to get stuff done was invaluable. Life balance with school work, entertainment, eating, second jobs, etc. was just part of the gig. On won hand, I understand the notion of the experience, but on the other, it is a vetting process to see who has the drive to succeed and who doesn't.

Is that Groucho in your sig?

 

[kgilbert78]

I managed on the meal plan and having about $10 a week spending money. If it ran out .... But that was a along time ago. The only time I had an issue with "hunger" in school was when I went to Germany on an exchange program. We paid PSU tuition and room and board. That took care of rent for the student dorms, but their dining plan was different--cash in the student cafeteria (Mensa) on campus--and we were about 10 km out of town. The dorm had a kitchen--so you learned to cook for yourself. We got a stipend in cash every two weeks or so--and it usually was not enough for the guys (worked ok for the gals)--especially as our transit pass came out of that. So you learned to improvise. Gouda was cheap so it went into almost every dish for more calories and protein. Aldi's was a big deal. Lunch was at the school Mensa--they had a cheap one=pot meal for 50 pfennig (that was sometimes awful)....

 

[Obliviax]

Well as Lion D said it would be helpful to understand the spending habits of students. So for those of you who accept this article without a couple hmms? I simply ask this.

What makes a college student less able to eat than a non college student?

If you make the presumption that college students are somewhat better off than non college students it would follow that of all college age people a considerably higher percentage than 36% go hungry.

For those that say the money is used for tuition or housing I would say unfortunately they are making a bad decision. Their is no college experience that is more valuable than eating.

agr

I

Is that Groucho in your sig?

yes. Dancing with Diana Ross in 1966

 

[tboyer]

I saw Gladwell speak last month at an awards dinner. He was a good speaker but I think went off the rails a bit with some of his comments on higher education (e.g. he seems to think that by not allowing all kids who deserve to to go Harvard to go to Harvard we are missing out as a society; my view is that while Harvard is a fine school, you can get a great education and change the world by going to lots of schools not named Harvard).

That's interesting that Gladwell left that impression with you. He actually went to a big state school (McGill?) and has written eloquently on how it's the kid who makes the kid successful, not the college. Cites a study of kids who won admission to both PSU and Penn -- the kids who chose PSU did just as well career-wise as the kids who chose Penn.

Gladwell uses the analogy of a modeling agency. The Ford modeling agency didn't make their models beautiful -- they just picked the most beautiful women to be their models. Gladwell says the Ivies are doing the same thing. The choose the most successful kids -- they didn't MAKE them successful. Same thing is really true with PSU football. PSU has done a great job with player development, but recruiting the kind of talent Franklin has brought in sure makes your player development look good -- some of these recruits are incredibly hard working people.

 

[GregInPitt]

My generation ate an awful lot of mac and cheese and frozen pizza. Sometimes just warm leftover beer. Not a lot of protein outside of canned tuna. We might have been malnourished but we weren't starving.

Anyway this is just a reflection of what has happened to American society in our lifetime -- huge huge wealth accumulation at the top and hollowing out of the middle class.

Universities like PSU cater to rich kids because they can get $50-60k a year out of them. So gold-plated new dorms and campus buildings and virtually no financial aid. Middle class kids are welcome too -- if they borrow $100-150k.

I think it's sad that public universities have pretty much abandoned what used to be their mission, which was providing a high quality education to kids from working class families without requiring a lifetime of debt.

Yep, it was always called The College Experience. College students when I attended did not expect to eat at the Oak Room. You scrape through college and get a job. What a concept.

Today's college students, if they qualify, can get an EIC on their taxes, something that did not exist in my day. Lots of free money as it is. If a "student" wants to get through college, and is willing to hustle, it's still there for the taking. Working through the college years, taking an extended approach, seems to be a lost concept to some. Easier to take on debt and then cry about it.

Some of these headlines are the snowflakes dreaming up something to cry about in hopes of spending more public money fixing another "problem"....

 

[LafayetteBear]

FYI, there is a food bank on campus called "the Lion's Pantry". Any student can stop in and get food. It's not a solution to the greater problem but it is a nice short term fix if you were hungry.

http://sites.psu.edu/lionspantrypsu/

Props to PSU for doing that. They just started something like that at a couple of UC campuses. Irvine and Davis, I think. It is getting a lot of publicity. Good thing.

 

[LafayetteBear]

I think it's sad that public universities have pretty much abandoned what used to be their mission, which was providing a high quality education to kids from working class families without requiring a lifetime of debt.

I don't think the universities deserve the blame here. All over the country, large public university systems are seeing their state funding getting cut. Every year. The fact that a state legislature cuts its university system's funding does not mean that the university system's costs are going down. It is usually the opposite. So, public universities have to get the money somewhere, or else see the quality of their school diminish as they lose out in competition for top faculty, or have to delay or forego constructing necessary new facilities.

Top public universities have typically responded with some combination of tuition hikes (for both in state and out of state students) and admitting a higher percentage of out of state students, who pay a lot more in tuition. If the taxpayers of a state want both quality and affordability in their state's public universities, they need to insist that their state legislature shoulder the cost of doing so.

 

[bison13]

It starts in HS and before. When I work cafe duty, I see kids who get a lunch at school not going into the healthy food lines or even the regular lunch lines, they are going to get in the stuff like mozzarella sticks or a bag of Taki's. If they get a regular lunch or the healthy (big salad with chicken) their money goes a lot further. Small burger, fries, a vegetable, a piece of fruit and a milk is a normal meal, maybe a quesadilla instead of the burger but you get the idea. But for the same money, the kids can buy 5 cheese sticks, yes, just 5 total. Or many of then buy a gatorade brand protein bar (that the football coach sells) and a bag of chips.

I remember as a freshman in East, my roommate would go to the bistro place in the commons and buy a whole pizza regularly. He always paid with his meal card. It was around 16 bucks off of your card or 2 days worth of 3 meals. Around the end of October he didnt want to go to dinner one night, I asked him why and he said because he only had 500 points or so left on his card, he needed to save a few meals. Wonder how many kids at PSU learned the same way....

 

[massimoManca II]

I don't think the universities deserve the blame here. All over the country, large public university systems are seeing their state funding getting cut. Every year. The fact that a state legislature cuts its university system's funding does not mean that the university system's costs are going down. It is usually the opposite. So, public universities have to get the money somewhere, or else see the quality of their school diminish as they lose out in competition for top faculty, or have to delay or forego constructing necessary new facilities.

Top public universities have typically responded with some combination of tuition hikes (for both in state and out of state students) and admitting a higher percentage of out of state students, who pay a lot more in tuition. If the taxpayers of a state want both quality and affordability in their state's public universities, they need to insist that their state legislature shoulder the cost of doing so.

You might wish to temper that position with some facts. In my line of business I see *first hand* what these new dining halls and residence halls look like... likewise I see what these universities, via their auxiliary operations arms, are shelling out for these projects... I can share stories about pissing money away that would knock your socks off... most colleges and universities have money to burn, but even those that are struggling (and some are) know they need to spend to create a veneer of success that will appeal to prospective students and their parents

 

[JR4PSU]

Read the study that the article highlights. Half of the study participants are attending community colleges. The most affordable college options.

http://wihopelab.com/publications/Wisconsin-HOPE-Lab-Still-Hungry-and-Homeless.pdf

While I guess it should not be a surprise but I had no idea.

Don't most kids that go to community college live with their parents? How do they not get enough to eat?

 

[roswelllion]

Maybe we should get a show of hands on who has a) read the study b) read the article or c) already knows everything known to the universe and already has an opinion?

c . for me

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

It starts in HS and before. When I work cafe duty, I see kids who get a lunch at school not going into the healthy food lines or even the regular lunch lines, they are going to get in the stuff like mozzarella sticks or a bag of Taki's. If they get a regular lunch or the healthy (big salad with chicken) their money goes a lot further. Small burger, fries, a vegetable, a piece of fruit and a milk is a normal meal, maybe a quesadilla instead of the burger but you get the idea. But for the same money, the kids can buy 5 cheese sticks, yes, just 5 total. Or many of then buy a gatorade brand protein bar (that the football coach sells) and a bag of chips.

I remember as a freshman in East, my roommate would go to the bistro place in the commons and buy a whole pizza regularly. He always paid with his meal card. It was around 16 bucks off of your card or 2 days worth of 3 meals. Around the end of October he didnt want to go to dinner one night, I asked him why and he said because he only had 500 points or so left on his card, he needed to save a few meals. Wonder how many kids at PSU learned the same way....

Everyone has a story like this, but it’s probably not at all like what the kids in the article are experiencing. Sure there are kids who make poor choices but that’s not the point - for those in the article, it’s about struggling to get a decent meal or two a day; not blowing your wad on a pizza.

 

[massimoManca II]

Don't most kids that go to community college live with their parents? How do they not get enough to eat?

Seriously?

Community college demographics, both rural and suburban (and I am very familiar with 8 of them in my region) are MUCH different than what you assume, apparently....

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Seriously?

Community college demographics, both rural and suburban (and I am very familiar with 8 of them in my region) are MUCH different than what you assume, apparently....

Isn’t it still the 80’s?

 

[JR4PSU]

Seriously?

Community college demographics, both rural and suburban (and I am very familiar with 8 of them in my region) are MUCH different than what you assume, apparently....

Well, thank you for the correction, ol' wise one.

 

[Pinkhippo PeanutButter]

You can still buy dry beans & rice for 50 cents or less a pound. Add a glass of milk and a bit of fruit and anyone in America can feed themselves for $5 a week.

That's not to say that's great eating, but literally noone should be "starving." That's cheaper than dog food.

 

[Kmase21]

You can still buy dry beans & rice for 50 cents or less a pound. Add a glass of milk and a bit of fruit and anyone in America can feed themselves for $5 a week.

That's not to say that's great eating, but literally noone should be "starving." That's cheaper than dog food.

I'm not starving, you're starving.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Holy sh*t. Why isn’t the BWI braintrust running the country? We’ve fixed the hunger issue in one thread. What’s next? Crime? Guns for all. Next? Education? Get rich or good at sports; otherwise, your fault for being lazy - dig a ditch. Next? Immigration? Go back from where you came from.

We could all have Nobel Prizes by lunch.

 

[Class of 67]

When I was a senior at Penn State in the late 1960s, 6 of us lived in a dilapidated house on Pugh Street. We always had enough to eat. Every day we ate the same dinner. We bought macaroni in large boxes at Weis Markets along with the cheapest hamburger (plenty of grease). One of the guys was able to get blocks of surplus Velveeta cheese for free. Every day we ate macaroni with hamburger grease and Velveeta cheese for dinner. We saved the leftovers for the next day's lunch. We also ate Velveeta cheese sandwiches for lunch. We were able to feed 6 guys for a week on less than $5. We were never hungry. We were happy and kind of proud about how resourceful we were.

I think I'd rather starve than survive on your meals!

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

You might find a clue in the title of the study...

"STILL HUNGRY AND HOMELESS IN COLLEGE"

from the summary page:

"The Bottom Line:
This is the largest national survey assessing the basic needs security of university students. It is the HOPE Lab’s 3rd national survey; the other two focused on community colleges. This year we report on 43,000 students at 66 institutions in 20 states and the District of Columbia. That includes over 20,000 students at 35 4-year colleges and universities, as well as students at community colleges.1 We find:

• 36% of university students were food insecure in the 30 days preceding the survey. This year’s estimate for community college students is 42%, but our larger study last year found 56%.2

• 36% of university students were housing insecure in the last year. Housing insecurity affected 51% of community college students in last year’s study, and 46% in this year’s study.

• 9% of university students were homeless in the last year. In comparison, 12% of community college students were homeless in this year’s survey, and 14% in last year’s survey.

The data show that basic needs insecurities disproportionately affect marginalized students and are associated with long work hours and higher risk of unemployment. However, the level of academic effort – in and outside the classroom—is the same regardless of whether or not students are dealing with food and housing insecurity. It is therefore critically important to match their commitments with supports to ensure degree completion."

The other thing people here are missing is that this article relates to food and housing insecurity - which isn’t the same as starvation. People here think being cheap is the same as being poor. These kids may or may not be able to buy vats of processed cheese and tubs of pasta; the point is nutritious food isn’t a guarantee for many reasons.

Like I said previously, this place is an empathy void.

 

[Obliviax]

The other thing people here are missing is that this article relates to food and housing insecurity - which isn’t the same as starvation. People here think being cheap is the same as being poor. These kids may or may not be able to buy vats of processed cheese and tubs of pasta; the point is nutritious food isn’t a guarantee for many reasons.

Like I said previously, this place is an empathy void.

There are several factors. First, the outrageous prices colleges charge these days is out of control. Penn State, and most of the "named" schools can charge whatever they want because they know people want that on their resume. In the meantime, dorms today resemble condos in west palm beach....nobody at these universities seems to be too worried about tuition and R&B costs, including PSU. in the meantime, colleges like Edinboro and Junietta are suffering. This is the way its done, blame everyone else but the college BOT's and governments (and parents). I went to a small crappy school and have had a great life so far. Its great to go to NW, M or PSU but if you cannot afford it, you can set yourself up pretty well at a small school for much less. This is just a scam to get people to be in favor of higher taxation targeted toward college educations so that BOT's can be even more outrageous in making sure their cronies capitalize on inflated construction prices. Trust me when I tell you that kids today, across the board, have it much better off than I did back in the70s and 80s.

 

[PSU Mike]

Going to piggyback on this one with some recent stories of employees being on their phone in front of customers. When I was at the PPL center for the hockey playoffs I went to one of the food stands for a water during the 2nd period. There was no line so as I wound my way through the stanchions and approached the front I expected to be called forward straight away. Instead the young girl at the service station closest to me was on her phone, not paying attention at all. The people that were supposed to be manning the other stations were laughing/joking (screwing around). So I just stood there for a good 30 seconds until someone yelled to the girl at the station in front of me and she then looked up, put her phone down, and asked what I wanted.

A similar thing happened not a week later when I was in a retail clothing store. Except this time it was a woman in her mid-40's that was on her phone at the register and not paying attention to the fact that there was a customer in line.

Now I'm on the younger side of this board from previous polls, but I could never imagine being allowed to be on my cell phone while working in a customer service position - let alone cashier. Not sure who to blame, the parents for not instilling a proper work ethic, or the management who isn't putting their foot down on this kind of behavior.

Hard for the manager to say something when she/he is in the back doing the same thing.

 

[roswelllion]

You might find a clue in the title of the study...

"STILL HUNGRY AND HOMELESS IN COLLEGE"

from the summary page:

"The Bottom Line:
This is the largest national survey assessing the basic needs security of university students. It is the HOPE Lab’s 3rd national survey; the other two focused on community colleges. This year we report on 43,000 students at 66 institutions in 20 states and the District of Columbia. That includes over 20,000 students at 35 4-year colleges and universities, as well as students at community colleges.1 We find:

• 36% of university students were food insecure in the 30 days preceding the survey. This year’s estimate for community college students is 42%, but our larger study last year found 56%.2

• 36% of university students were housing insecure in the last year. Housing insecurity affected 51% of community college students in last year’s study, and 46% in this year’s study.

• 9% of university students were homeless in the last year. In comparison, 12% of community college students were homeless in this year’s survey, and 14% in last year’s survey.

The data show that basic needs insecurities disproportionately affect marginalized students and are associated with long work hours and higher risk of unemployment. However, the level of academic effort – in and outside the classroom—is the same regardless of whether or not students are dealing with food and housing insecurity. It is therefore critically important to match their commitments with supports to ensure degree completion."

So ned,

What is food or housing insecure? There is something seriously wrong or misleading in this study.

. Are 36% of all teens food or housing insecure. NO
. So that means teens who are in college are worse off than those who are not. Does that make sense?
. Why would anyone voluntarily go hungry or become homeless in order to go to community college? Why not put it off for a year save a few dollars live at home and then go to college.

If these stats are accurate these kids are either making bad choices, or aren't telling their parents. [obviously not everyone, b ut a lot of the 36%}

We are in an economy with almost no unemployment, there just aren't enough reasons save for mental health issues to be hungry or homeless as an adult at these high % [36%] levels.

 

[roswelllion]

I don't think the universities deserve the blame here. All over the country, large public university systems are seeing their state funding getting cut. Every year. The fact that a state legislature cuts its university system's funding does not mean that the university system's costs are going down. It is usually the opposite. So, public universities have to get the money somewhere, or else see the quality of their school diminish as they lose out in competition for top faculty, or have to delay or forego constructing necessary new facilities.

Top public universities have typically responded with some combination of tuition hikes (for both in state and out of state students) and admitting a higher percentage of out of state students, who pay a lot more in tuition. If the taxpayers of a state want both quality and affordability in their state's public universities, they need to insist that their state legislature shoulder the cost of doing so.

Read Obli's post on page 3. The Universities are getting fat at the expense of students. Since 1980 tuition has gone up 260% compared to standard of living 120%. What are the "organic" costs of a University. [salaries, and buildings] IF [and i seriously question this study] kids are going hungry and homeless while in college the Universities IMO deserve most of the blame.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

There are several factors. First, the outrageous prices colleges charge these days is out of control. Penn State, and most of the "named" schools can charge whatever they want because they know people want that on their resume. In the meantime, dorms today resemble condos in west palm beach....nobody at these universities seems to be too worried about tuition and R&B costs, including PSU. in the meantime, colleges like Edinboro and Junietta are suffering. This is the way its done, blame everyone else but the college BOT's and governments (and parents). I went to a small crappy school and have had a great life so far. Its great to go to NW, M or PSU but if you cannot afford it, you can set yourself up pretty well at a small school for much less. This is just a scam to get people to be in favor of higher taxation targeted toward college educations so that BOT's can be even more outrageous in making sure their cronies capitalize on inflated construction prices. Trust me when I tell you that kids today, across the board, have it much better off than I did back in the70s and 80s.

Do they though?

IMO, universities, especially rich ones, should do more. Gladwell said the top schools in the country (Ivies, Stanford, etc.) have over $120bn in endowments yet serve about 11,000 students who could be described as poor.

So ned,

What is food or housing insecure? There is something seriously wrong or misleading in this study.

. Are 36% of all teens food or housing insecure. NO
. So that means teens who are in college are worse off than those who are not. Does that make sense?
. Why would anyone voluntarily go hungry or become homeless in order to go to community college? Why not put it off for a year save a few dollars live at home and then go to college.

If these stats are accurate these kids are either making bad choices, or aren't telling their parents. [obviously not everyone, b ut a lot of the 36%}

We are in an economy with almost no unemployment, there just aren't enough reasons save for mental health issues to be hungry or homeless as an adult at these high % [36%] levels.

You can't extrapolate or induce these numbers to the population at large and hope to draw any serious or relevant conclusions. Even if you look at your first point alone, I would say it seems likely kids in college - poor ones - have it worse than those who are not in college as they have more strains on time and financial resources. Kids/teens who don't go to college likely work, or live at home. They have strains too, especially if they have a family, but they're likely opting for employment over education.

 

[LemonEars]

I think I'd rather starve than survive on your meals!

The 6 of us who lived in the dilapidated house all came from humble backgrounds. We had no problem with eating macaroni with melted Velveeta cheese and hamburger grease everyday. Once in a while we would scrounge a can of peas to put in it. Those were some of my happiest memories. We were quite proud that we could feed 6 people on $5 per week in the late 1960s. It didn't hurt us a bit.

We were all engineering majors and all have done quite well in life.

 

[PSU2UNC]

That's interesting that Gladwell left that impression with you. He actually went to a big state school (McGill?) and has written eloquently on how it's the kid who makes the kid successful, not the college. Cites a study of kids who won admission to both PSU and Penn -- the kids who chose PSU did just as well career-wise as the kids who chose Penn.

Gladwell uses the analogy of a modeling agency. The Ford modeling agency didn't make their models beautiful -- they just picked the most beautiful women to be their models. Gladwell says the Ivies are doing the same thing. The choose the most successful kids -- they didn't MAKE them successful. Same thing is really true with PSU football. PSU has done a great job with player development, but recruiting the kind of talent Franklin has brought in sure makes your player development look good -- some of these recruits are incredibly hard working people.

I agree with you, but that's not the point Gladwell was making when I heard him speak. He was talking about maximizing potential across a population; he started by using the example that when his mother was growing up in Jamaica there was only 1 scholarship per year for an underprivileged child to attend private high school and only 1 scholarship per year for a student to attend university in England. He then extrapolated how much wasted talent there was in the world, and finished his example by talking about Harvard as the ultimate way to maximize potential.

Now, he may have been attempting to pander to his audience (I'd wager that there were more Ivy leaguers in the room than non-Ivy leaguers), but that's what he said and I wasn't the only one who go that (several others at my dinner table discussed how we didn't like that aspect of his talk).

 

[Obliviax]

Well, I guess they're busted then. It's all just a conspiracy to raise taxes. Seriously?

FWIW, hunger and homelessness are a growing problem all over this country as the wage gap expands. It's not limited to teenagers in college.

I am and many here are fortunate to be on the right side of the wage gap but that doesn't mean its not real.

The day of reckoning is coming. God help us when it does.


“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.”
― George Orwell, 1984

First, no need to get snippy. Of course we'd all like everyone to be happy and safe. But with limited resources, you've got to call your shots. I'd also remind you that high school education is free, yet many drop out. In CLE, the city schools have a 36% drop out rate.

At the end of the day, college is a filter that shows who finds a way and who doesn't. Unfortunately, in life, everyone's starting position is different. Some are not born with the ability to memorize as well as others, so they have to find another way. Some don't have money, two parents, time, two eyes, two ears, two legs or whatever.

Factor in that Universities are ripping kids off by spending money like drunk sailors, cronieism, and so many other factors that it becomes a complex issue and one not easily solvable. And, don't forget, more money is given away today for education, than ever before. I also have to say the writer was big disengenous with some of the super hype, which raises red flags. i seriously doubt that 36% lack a "safe place to live" (I'd like to see how that stat was realized).

Bottom line, where does the money come from? What programs are defunded to fund this? We'd all like to increase funding and give more participation trophy's, but that will come with other consequences.

Just my opinion....but don't be snarky. Just because you want to give other people's money away, doesn't necessarily make you smart of nice.