Highbrow Magazine - college https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/college en The Student Loans Crisis: Default or Pay? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5434-student-loans-crisis-default-or-pay <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Sun, 11/01/2015 - 15:00</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1studentdebt%20%28under30ceo%29_0.jpg?itok=IO0pG64E"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1studentdebt%20%28under30ceo%29_0.jpg?itok=IO0pG64E" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>In a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/opinion/sunday/why-i-defaulted-on-my-student-loans.html?_r=2">June 6<sup>th</sup> article</a> for the <em>New York Times</em>, Lee Siegel told the story of how he “signed away his young life” by taking out his first student loan. This is an experience many of us can relate to. For those who were not fortunate enough to have parents both willing and able to pay for schooling, or be hard-working and/or physically gifted enough to be deserving of a merit or athletic scholarship, taking out a loan is the only means to higher learning. And higher learning, we are inaccurately told from a young age, is the most surefire way to achieve success. It is this uniquely American narrative, coupled with the ever-increasing price of education, that has resulted in our current situation.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/10/pf/college/student-loans/">According to CNN,</a> 40 million Americans now hold at least one outstanding student loan, up from 29 million in 2008, at the start of the recession. Borrowers, on average, carry four student loans each, up from three in 2008, with an average debt increase of $6,000. Debtors now hold $29,000 in student loans up from $23,000 merely 7 years ago. The result? The nationwide student loan debt now amounts to a whopping $1.2 trillion, an 84% increase since the beginning of the recession.</p> <p> </p> <p>One of the unique aspects of student loans is that those taking out the loans are oftentimes in their late teens and lack the necessary financial track records to indicate to lenders their ability, or willingness, to repay when the time comes. They also often lack the financial literacy to make informed decisions for themselves. For those who land jobs following college, timely repayment of loans can have a very positive impact on future financial standings and credit scores, thereby opening the doors for future lower interest loans for large purchases, such as a car or a home.</p> <p> </p> <p>But for those who struggle to find work, the results can be extremely damaging. Imagine coming out of school and finding, as so many people do, a job market lacking in opportunities while you carry a ballooning financial burden that was billed as a path to financial security. This is an uncertainty shared by many. <a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/march/higher-ed-hoxby-030615.html">According to Caroline Hoxby</a>, the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University, attending college has increased during every financial recession since the 1960s. The most recent recession was no different. The reason, according to Hoxby, is that “the opportunity cost of going to college – the job opportunities a person forgoes while in college – drops very dramatically during recessions.” In other words, during a recession, it becomes harder to find a job, keep a job, and secure a promotion.</p> <p> </p> <p>So even though families might find it more painful to spend money on an education when they have less, or perhaps less reliable, incomes, the idea that a higher education opens more doors is an appealing one. It seems logical, then, to get a degree and improve your odds of being hired while the job market is light in hopes that when you receive your diploma, opportunities will be more available. But what if you finish school and those opportunities are still not available? What if you find yourself among those who collectively owe $1.2 trillion in oftentimes high-interest loans?</p> <p> </p> <p>Lee Siegel makes an argument for default. In his piece he paints a grim picture. By the end of his sophomore year at a small liberal arts college, he writes, his mother and he “had taken out a second loan, (his) father had declared bankruptcy and (his) parents had divorced.” His mother could no longer afford the high payments, and Siegel was forced to transfer to a state school in New Jersey, closer to his childhood neighborhood in the Bronx. (What he neglects to mention is that he dropped out in short order and transferred to Columbia University, a private school.)</p> <p> </p> <p>Student loans, as Siegel describes them, effectively tore his family apart. And yet, even with all the discord at home, Siegel trudged on to earn three degrees from Columbia University. And then came the choice. Siegel could “give up what had become (his) vocation and take a job that he didn’t want in order to repay the huge debt (he) had accumulated in college and graduate school. Or he could take what he had been led to believe was both the morally and legally reprehensible step of defaulting on his student loans.” Defaulting on his loans, he argues, was the only way he could secure a job that would not waste what he considers his “particular usefulness to society.” So he defaulted. And in a piece read by people the world over, he argued that the millions of young people today who hold the $1.2 trillion in loans should consider following his lead.</p> <p> </p> <p>In ways, he makes a good argument. Going back to school is the responsible choice. It qualifies as investing in one’s future and, at least theoretically, makes a person of more use to herself and to society at large. It’s not as if the $1.2 trillion in debt was amassed through drug use or maxing out credit cards. He even offers up alternative realities to the choice he eventually made. He could have continued working at The Wild Pair, where he had held a stable job between dropping out of a state college because he “thought he deserved better” and enrolling at Columbia University. Or he could have gone into finance and lived a life of “self-disgust and unhappiness.”  He sets up what amounts to a zero-sum game. Either you sell your soul to repay your student loans, or you default and live a life of happiness and professional fulfillment.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumcollegegraduates%20%28Leslie%20Byk%20Flickr%29_1.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Who, when presented with these alternatives, wouldn’t choose the latter? But when you press on a little further, the outcomes of this decision seem slightly less appealing. Siegel does not deny that defaulting on loans will negatively impact a person’s credit and opportunities, and he offers three easy steps: 1) get as many credit cards as you possibly can before you ruin your credit; 2) find a stable housing situation and pay your rent on time; and 3), live with or marry someone with good credit. Someone, it would follow, who repayed his or her student loans. And then, he says, do not be afraid because “the reliably predatory nature of American life guarantees that there will always be somebody to help you, from credit card companies charging stratospheric rates to subprime loans for houses and cars. Our economic system,” he continues, “ensures that so long as you are willing to sink deeper and deeper into debt, you will keep being enthusiastically invited to play the economic game.” So, he argues, the same predatory lending that got you into debt in the first place is exactly the structure that will allow you to continue to survive, if not thrive, economically once you default. For many people, this sort of irresponsibility and uncertainty can be a little much to swallow. But worry not. As long as enough people default, Siegel says, the government will have to respond by guaranteeing an education rather than by guaranteeing <a name="_GoBack" id="_GoBack"></a>student loans.</p> <p> </p> <p>Jordan Weissman, of <em>Slate</em>, offers a <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/06/08/lee_siegel_new_york_times_op_ed_is_this_the_worst_op_ed_ever_written_about.html">response</a>. He places Siegel’s piece in context. In the months preceding the publication of Siegel’s article, almost 200 students from Corinthian Colleges <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/corinthian-colleges-closing-student-debt-strike-reaches-190-while-lawmakers-consider-1954171">launched a debt strike</a> during which they refused to repay the money they borrowed while attending the for-profit education chain. Corinthian Colleges, Inc. was a specific case, however. Corinthian was investigated, and eventually shuttered, for defrauding its students by providing misinformation regarding its job placement and graduation rates, and the federal loans held by students who attended the schools were forgiven.</p> <p> </p> <p>Siegel, on the other hand, did not fall victim to a predatory lending scheme. Instead, he took out loans and accepted scholarships that led him to eventually earn a B.A., an M.A., and a master’s of philosophy from Columbia University. He graduated before our current student loan crisis really began and most certainly owes more than the average $29,000 to the government, even without taking into consideration the interest that has likely tripled or quadrupled his debt load. And all this because he (erroneously) believed that he required three degrees from one of the most expensive universities in the country in order to pursue his dream to be a professional writer.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1columbiauniversity.jpg" style="height:371px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Siegel’s biggest offense here, according to Weissman, is that throughout his column Siegel doles out “criminally negligent financial advice.” The reality of defaulting, Weissman argues, is much worse than Siegel lets on. The fact of the matter is that since student loans are federally owned, if a person defaults on those loans the government can <a href="http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/collections/government-collection-tools/admin-wage-garnishments/">garnish up to 15 percent</a> of the borrower’s disposable wages directly from their paycheck until the loan is repayed. Alternatively, the newest income-based repayment plan offered by the government requires a borrower to repay only 10 percent of wages.</p> <p> </p> <p>It is certainly true that higher education in the United States is prohibitively expensive, and that $1.2 trillion in student loans is a scarily high number. There are a lot of people struggling under the burden of high loans with high interest rates, people who are working jobs that they don’t love in order to repay those loans, families that are placed under high levels of stress by that loan bill that keeps coming month after month. But how about all the people who have taken advantage of income-based repayment in order to simultaneously repay their loans and pursue careers that they love, careers that don’t pay as well as the lucrative ones that can, according to Siegel, lead to “self-disgust and lifelong unhappiness.” There is no great answer here. The repayment of loans, especially once you factor in graduate and doctoral programs, can seem an insurmountable obstacle. The interest rates assure that repayment happens slowly. But the alternative – ruined credit, reliance on loved ones for housing and transportation, garnishing of wages – seems worse.</p> <p> </p> <p>Shuttering schools that are predatory lenders, institutions that take advantage of young people and army veterans, is a good first step. But imagine what would happen if we all followed Siegel’s advice and defaulted. Imagine if $1.2 trillion just went unpaid, just disappeared. Where would we be then? There needs to be a complete overhaul in the way we value and finance traditional education, but a mass default is most certainly not the answer. That wouldn’t end well for any of us, not even for Lee Siegel.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong>Rebekah Frank is a contributing writer at <em>Highbrow Magazine.</em></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/student-loans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student loans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/student-debt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student debt</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/university" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">university</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/attending-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">attending college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/defaulting-debt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">defaulting on debt</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/finding-jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">finding jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/job-market" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">job market</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/colleg-students" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">colleg students</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Rebekah Frank</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Flick; Google Images</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Sun, 01 Nov 2015 20:00:42 +0000 tara 6448 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5434-student-loans-crisis-default-or-pay#comments New Graduates: Welcome to a World of Debt https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4088-new-graduates-welcome-world-debt <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 06/24/2014 - 07:48</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumcollegegraduates%20%28Wiki%29_0.jpg?itok=RKSmAILF"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumcollegegraduates%20%28Wiki%29_0.jpg?itok=RKSmAILF" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From New America Media/VoiceWaves:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>LONG BEACH -- When film student Chris Reyes talks about the $430 he pays each month toward his student loan, he uses the movie <em>Jaws</em> as a metaphor.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s like a shark that takes a chunk out of me every month,” said Reyes, who graduated from California State University, Long Beach last year owing over $45,000 in student debt. “I haven’t eaten out at a restaurant in a really long time.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Reyes has managed to scrape by with a part-time job at bookstore, while he looks for a second job to help cover his bills, including his student loan payments. “I knew I would have to get a second part-time job once I started at Barnes &amp; Noble,” said Reyes, who began working at the chain store last summer.</p> <p> </p> <p>Reyes is not alone. Outstanding student debt across the United States has reached $1.2 trillion according to <em>Forbes</em>, and is increasing at a faster rate than mortgages and auto loans. Seventy-one percent of 2013 college graduates had student loan debt, with an average of $29,400 per borrower, and more than half of Californians have student debt with an average of $20,000, according to data compiled by the Institute for College Access and Success.</p> <p> </p> <p>“My parents kept telling me that if I get a college degree, I’ll get a job because that’s what happened in their generation, but now that’s not the case,” said Tatiana Bush, a recent graduate of UC Irvine. “There are so many more hurdles that we have to jump through than in past generations. We have more things we have to add to our resume in order to even be seen.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Because of her student loans, Bush has decided to join a pro-women’s basketball team in Georgia rather than pursue a graduate degree.</p> <p> </p> <p>“If I got to grad school, I’m going to have to take out another loan, and I don’t want to even get into that because I haven’t even paid off my current student loans,” said Bush. “I could make six figures playing basketball overseas, and that sounds more promising to me than working at a retail store for a little over minimum wage.”</p> <p> </p> <p>A market survey conducted by the real estate website Redfin found that a significant number of prospective first-time homebuyers – 16 percent – said student loans were preventing them from buying a house, while 33 percent said student debt delayed them from purchasing a home for one or two years.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I haven’t been in a situation where I would be looking for a house, but I’m fearful for that day to come,” said Nathan Bronson, an alumni of San Francisco State University who owes $30,000 in student loans.</p> <p> </p> <p>Bronson believes that the student debt crisis has made people of his generation more skeptical about going to college.</p> <p> </p> <p>“From my standpoint, I don’t really see the people who got college degrees having much more of an advantage than people that just have a high school diploma,” said Bronson.</p> <p> </p> <p>Yet according to Georgetown University, more than six out of 10 jobs will require a college degree by 2018.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3collegegraduates.jpg" style="height:338px; width:605px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>“Sometimes I question whether or not I should have taken out student loans in order to get my degree,” said Nancy Alocer, who studied anthropology at UC Davis and now pays $500 a month towards her student loans. Without her student debt, Alocer says she would be using that money to build a business with her siblings.</p> <p> </p> <p>Maritza Reyna, who specializes in education loans at Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Orange County, believes that some students might be causing themselves harm by taking out higher loans than they need.</p> <p> </p> <p>“A lot of students actually take out more money for unnecessary purchases, like a new bed for their dorm,” said Reyes. “So they take out more for little luxuries versus using the money just for their tuition and their books.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Reyna also advises recent college graduates to budget their expenses and to have an estimated figure of how much they owe every month.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Even if you defer payments on your loan, the interest will keep occurring, so the more you defer the bigger your loan grows,” said Reyna.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, some college graduates, like Bronson, have put off paying down their student loans, simply because they can’t afford it.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The interest is probably incurring as we speak,” said Bronson, who recently got a job doing video work for the L.A. Kings. “Right now it’s just affecting me mentally, but I believe that someday it will affect me physically as well.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Ben Novotny is a student reporter at VoiceWaves, a youth-led community news outlet dedicated to deepening the coverage of community health-related issues in Long Beach, California. VoiceWaves is a project of New America Media, supported by a grant from The California Endowment.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/student-loans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student loans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/student-debt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">student debt</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college-graduates" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college graduates</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college-degree" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college degree</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/paying-loans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">paying off loans</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/going-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">going to college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rising-debt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">rising debt</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ben Novotny</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 24 Jun 2014 11:48:23 +0000 tara 4887 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4088-new-graduates-welcome-world-debt#comments Why Your First Job Should Be an Internship https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4065-why-your-first-job-should-be-internship <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 06/16/2014 - 10:47</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2blackemployment%20Colorlines%29_0.jpg?itok=KGqAtwLB"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2blackemployment%20Colorlines%29_0.jpg?itok=KGqAtwLB" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>If you are a typical college graduate, you've probably spent the first 21 years of your life in some educational system or other. You've done all that was assigned to you - from the time you were being taught to color inside the lines in preschool to when you designed your first social program or form of government or engineering solution for a project in college. You've sacrificed your desire for immediate gratification for what was promised if you stuck with it. At every family event and every time you met one of your parents' friends, you've been encouraged to stay in school and stay focused. Now it's almost over and you’re facing the impending graduation. Graduation to what? You want to find a job that allows you to buy all those things you've been adding to your Amazon wish list for years.</p> <p> </p> <p>But sadly, all the jobs that students thought they would be doing right out of college require experience - years of experience. How does one acquire experience without getting a job first?</p> <p> </p> <p>You've seen the word internship tossed about on some of the job websites you peruse and bookmark and it sounds like a bad word. Isn't an intern the kid who gets the morning coffee for the people who went to college? Surely, you must be able to get a better job than that.</p> <p> </p> <p>Or maybe you watched the Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson comedy <em>The Internship</em> and imagined yourself at Google headquarters designing apps as a first project.</p> <p> </p> <p>Most traditional interns might not get to contribute to major projects their first week in a company but an internship could be the best thing you do to jump-start your career.</p> <p>As an intern, you can get in the doors of a great company that would not normally hire you for an entry-level position.</p> <p> </p> <p>When a company brings in an intern, the expectation is that the college student or new graduate has little or no experience being in a corporate environment and a certain amount of leeway is extended to him or her. The tasks might be small and menial – get the coffee, make copies for a meeting, make courier runs between floors or offices, attend meetings with the boss to provide any assistance he or she might need – but these are tasks can take a good portion of your day and they may be physically demanding or time sensitive, making the job challenging.</p> <p> </p> <p>How you deal with that challenging situation is the key factor that employers try to control when accepting new interns. In an interview for an internship, your well-written resume and sterling GPA might not count as much as your personal skills. Employers know that internship jobs are not the glamorous job you were probably expecting to land. They also know that it takes character to not respond negatively when someone asks you to make 200 hundred copies of a booklet then realizes they gave you the wrong document only after you have completed the task.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1interns%20%28flickr%29.jpg" style="height:433px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Or when you waited in line at the boss’ favorite lunch spot to pick up the salad she said she wanted for lunch then raced up the stairs to deliver it in time, only for her to throw it in the garbage because she just decided to go for a lunch meeting. These are real-world situations that have angered many assistants, real-world situations that require good character to be able to deal with them.</p> <p> </p> <p>Or when you’ve been asked to contribute to the presentation and you spent the week on the assignment only for it to be completely omitted from the final product.</p> <p>Stuart Lander, the Chief Marketing Officer for <a href="http://internships.com/" target="_blank">Internships.com</a>, in an interview for <em>Forbes</em> magazine, said “The most important factor employers look at when deciding who to hire is interview performance because they want to make sure that the student will be a good fit for their organization.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Armed with a new college degree, you probably think that you can do a better job than many of the junior employees in the company. Fresh with ideas from your marketing class, you probably think you could contribute more to the work world than making copies of other people’s ideas. But being part of the team, albeit a not-quite-equal part, gives you a really good opportunity to see what other people are doing in their day-to-day job functions and to practice humility in situations that you might consider are beneath your education and training.</p> <p> </p> <p>And when it comes to finding a new job or opportunity, sometimes it’s not what you know but who you know that counts. An internship at a company in your chosen field allows you access to someone who works in your chosen career - someone who can become a mentor, someone who can personally recommend you for your next opportunity. Being on the inside of the company, being a face that the employees recognize, being a person that the employees interact with puts you at the top of the list when new job opportunities come around. Because when faced with the choice between hiring an unknown person from an Internet application and someone who has been personally recommended, the latter gets the job most of the time.</p> <p> </p> <p>Everyday, people are getting jobs through relationships, people are being recommended for new opportunities because someone can make a personal testimony on their behalf.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumcollegegraduates%20%28Leslie%20Byk%20Flickr%29_0.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>As an intern, a new college graduate can get in through the doors of a great company that would not normally hire you for an entry-level position. As Beth Braccio-Hering writes on <a href="http://careerbuilder.com/" target="_blank">CareerBuilder.com</a>, “... many companies develop an internship pool and then hire new employees from that group.”</p> <p> </p> <p>According to the <a href="http://internships.com/" target="_blank">Internships.com</a> homepage, seven out of 10 internships turn into full-time jobs. Currently, the website lists over 75,000 internships at more than 50,000 companies all across the 50 states. That’s close to 50,000 new jobs that at some point will go to former interns. Because most people are looking for paid jobs, unpaid internships are often undersubscribed. Unless they have a restriction on employment or wage earnings, everyone wants the extra cash that a job can provide. Because there is not as much interest in getting the unpaid internship, those who do apply have less competition and are thus more likely to be hired.</p> <p> </p> <p>And you don’t have to wait until you’ve graduated to apply for an internship. Although college students typically search for internships that they can perform during the long summer, companies look for new employees all throughout the year. Students who are able to work part-time during the semester have several options to get nontraditional internships. Companies are so willing to accept college students during the semester that they often create flexible schedules for the interns to spend a few hours during the week in their offices.</p> <p> </p> <p>To make scheduling even more convenient, companies are now even embracing the idea of virtual internships. Brie Welzer, an associate with Green Seal environmental company, discussed the benefits of virtual internship in an interview with the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>. She said, “Telecommuting is becoming much bigger. It’s less expensive and in many ways more productive than working in an office.” Among requirements for Green Seal’s virtual intern: ability to work independently, clarity in writing and Skype account (webcam “preferred”).</p> <p> </p> <p>Additionally, <a href="http://forbes.com/" target="_blank">Forbes.com</a> reports that 33 percent of companies hired virtual interns because “virtual internships give [the students] the opportunity to gain valuable experience outside of their short vacation time, when competition for positions is at its highest.” Virtual internships challenge the boundary between internship and job because the menial tasks typically associated with internship positions are often not tasks that can be outsourced.</p> <p> </p> <p>In fact, virtual internships lend themselves to jobs that are computer-based like Web marketing, social media strategizing, graphic designing, etc. These internships provide the student or graduate with an excellent opportunity to get experience, build a network, acquire referrals, build a portfolio, meet a true mentor and test the real-world application of some of the abstract concepts taught in schools, all in a more accepting environment. Even without a cash incentive, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2interns%20%28flickr%29.jpg" style="height:452px; width:626px" /></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Karen Wright is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/interns" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">interns</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/internships" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">internships</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jobs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jobs</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/your-first-job" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">your first job</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/work" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">work</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/working" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">working</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/employment" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">employment</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/young-college-graduates" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">young college graduates</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/applying-internshiip" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">applying for internshiip</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Karen Wright</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons; Leslie Byk (Flickr); Flickr</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:47:38 +0000 tara 4844 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4065-why-your-first-job-should-be-internship#comments Education: The Challenge and Promise of Common Core https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3839-education-challenge-and-promise-common-core <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 10:01</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1commoncore.jpg?itok=I1wzhI6k"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1commoncore.jpg?itok=I1wzhI6k" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From the <a href="http://www.lasentinel.net/">Los Angeles Sentinel</a> (and our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/03/the-challenge-and-promise-of-common-core.php">New America Media</a>):</p> <p> </p> <p>While California’s linguistic, ethnic and racial diversity is often cited as one of the state’s great assets, there is also considerable variance in academic achievement. For example, African-American students have consistently ranked below all other groups in academic performance locally and nationally. This disparity is largely due to systemic negligence, disproportionate poverty, inadequate resources and ineffective teachers found in many Black communities.</p> <p> </p> <p>In order for California’s new Common Core education standards to succeed, districts and the state must address the needs of these students.</p> <p> </p> <p>Common Core is a new set of standards in English language arts and mathematics designed to assess and instruct students, placing greater emphasis on critical thinking and analysis. Instruction is to be more interactive and project-based. Textbooks will have less of an emphasis on rote exercises and more on abstract reasoning. And these are areas where Black students are most deficient and in dire need of equitable resources.</p> <p> </p> <p>Adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia, part of the aim of the Common Core is to shift California’s focus more toward equity and close achievement and opportunity gaps. Without a strong commitment to equitable allocation of resources and funding, however, Common Core could in fact widen the gap between students most in need and those more advantaged in terms of family income, effective teachers, etc.</p> <p> </p> <p>Common Core is not a federal program; it was developed by the National Governors Association and Council of Chief State Officers. However, the Obama Administration makes funding for some education programs contingent on state education standards. If a state does not adopt Common Core it must show that it has other standards that will prepare students for college and work if it is to receive federal funding.</p> <p> </p> <p>The Oakland-based advocacy group Education Trust-West recommends steps policymakers should take to ensure students of color, low-income students and English language Learners benefit from the massive changes in California’s education system:</p> <p>Equitable access to rigorous standards, curriculum, instruction and assessments: Districts must support teachers in transforming their instructional practices.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Adequate and equitable funding</strong>: The state must ensure its new funding law, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), is not just about local control and flexibility, but also, and most important, about educational justice.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Equitable access to effective teachers:</strong> California must “incentivize” its best college graduates, particularly in fields such as science and math, to select teaching as a field.</p> <p><strong>Accountability for student results:</strong> California’s systems of accountability must be streamlined but not stray from a focus on academic achievement.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2commoncore%20%28Goldberg%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="height:424px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Georgia State University Professor Julie Washington is an expert on pathways to high academic achievement and Black student literacy. She says Common Core is a response to the country’s growing diversity and will help raise expectations for all students. She also feels the new standards—if they are adhered to—should benefit African American children because classroom expectations will be raised and more transparent.</p> <p> </p> <p>Washington also notes that low-income African American students speak a dialect that differs substantially from those the school expects, i.e., they are Standard English Learners. She feels Common Core will help address language acquisition disparity because language differences are addressed in Common Core. (This is very important because Black children are often ostracized in the classroom simply because they do not speak Standard English.)</p> <p> </p> <p>Lisa Delpit, a professor at Southern University and A&amp;M College, has also cited language and dialect as learning issues. She is the author of, among other books, <em>Multiplication is for White People: Raising Expectations for Other People’s Children</em>. She argues that a focus on process-oriented – as opposed to the skill-oriented writing instruction stressed under Common Core – reduces the chances for Black children to develop the tools required for accessing “culture power.”</p> <p> </p> <p>“I believe what we really need to aim for is that children bring their minds to schools, not just their ability to regurgitate facts,” says Delpit.</p> <p> </p> <p>Delpit also stresses the importance of teachers altering practices in urban schools to take into account the culture and life experiences of Black students, and discusses the significance of educators having positive attitudes towards African Americans and other students of color.</p> <p> </p> <p>Common Core was adopted because of a variation in state-to-state student performance, teaching quality and academic outcomes. However, concerns about the impact of these more rigorous standards on students – including many Black children – who are already performing below grade level cannot be ignored.</p> <p> </p> <p>The need to standardize curriculum, instruction and student performance seems right; but the needs of those least prepared to benefit from the more rigorous standards must be given full consideration. For African American children, that is Common Core’s challenge and promise.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Larry Aubry is a veteran activist and columnist with the LA Sentinel, one of Los Angeles’ leading African American publications. This story was produced as part of New America Media’s 2014 Ethnic Media Education Reporting Fellowship, with support from the California Education Policy Fund.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.lasentinel.net/">Los Angeles Sentinel</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/common-core" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">common core</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">education</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/black-communities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">black communities</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/schools" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">schools</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/academic-achievement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">academic achievement</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/studies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">studies</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/getting-college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">getting into college</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Larry Aubry</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media; Goldberg (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 21 Mar 2014 14:01:54 +0000 tara 4465 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3839-education-challenge-and-promise-common-core#comments The Devaluation of the Time-Honored Law Degree https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2393-devaluation-time-honored-law-degree <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 05/02/2013 - 09:17</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumcollegegraduates%20%28Leslie%20Byk%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=WXxsAMRu"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumcollegegraduates%20%28Leslie%20Byk%20Flickr%29.jpg?itok=WXxsAMRu" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">There are certain careers in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place> that are staples of success and stability. A shakeup in these standards is occurring within one of these principle professions, the time-honored law degree, which is currently going through a downward transformation. A group of the top law professors in the country called “</span><a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/taskforcecomments/032013_coalition_revcomment.authcheckdam.pdf">The Coalition of Concerned Colleagues</a><span style="color:black">” met this past March to discuss and publish their concerns over the alarming devaluation of legal education.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">As the <i>New York Times</i> noted in a </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/education/law-schools-applications-fall-as-costs-rise-and-jobs-are-cut.html?_r=0">January 30, 2013 article</a><span style="color:black">, “Law school applications are headed for a 30-year low, reflecting increased concern over soaring tuition, crushing student debt and diminishing prospects of lucrative employment upon graduation.” Faced with this new reality in the legal field, the coalition met to discuss how the law degree is losing its value and how the current environment has shunned away many prospective enrollees.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="font-size:13.5pt;&#10;color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">Central to this issue is the debt burden carried by outgoing law students. The </span><a href="http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/average_debt_load_of_private_law_grads_is_125k_these_five_schools_lead_to_m/">ABA Journal</a><span style="color:black"> calculated that, “The average education debt for law grads at private schools last year was nearly $125,000, while the average for grads of public law schools was more than $75,700, according to new figures released by the <st1:place w:st="on"></st1:place><st1:place w:st="on"></st1:place><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">ABA</st1:city></st1:place>.”</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">With tuition and debt reaching all-time highs, the only counterbalance to make the cost worth it is if the presumed convention that a law degree leads to a high-paying job holds true. A six-figure average debt burden across law schools has been a reality for law students. However, what has led to the devalued law degree is that the high-paying job at the end of the road, which will efficiently pay down student debt and provide for comfortable living, is no longer existent. The price of a legal education has increased as the job market for lawyers has severely declined.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">The Coalition of Concerned Colleagues noted in particular that, “the median starting salary of the [2011] class, among the less than half of graduates for whom a salary was reported, was $60,000.” This creates a serious economic problem, since at the average salary of $60,000, a law school graduate is unable to afford the monthly payments on the average six-figure debt that their degree cost them. At the same time, it has been estimated by the federal government that if graduation rates remain at present levels over the next decade, the economy will only create about one new legal job for every two law school graduates.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">The coalition does not foresee this problem being resolved. “Most knowledgeable observers believe that the situation is unlikely to improve even if the economy fully rebounds. More employers are relying on paralegals, technology and contract attorneys to do work previously performed by recent graduates.” High debt and low wages create a large and expensive problem for thousands of law school graduates and are clear deterrents for prospective students. </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">Moreover the coalition found that only two out of every five 2011 graduates were able to obtain a full-time job that required a law degree for the position, further defeating the need for the law degree altogether.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumlawdegree%20%28Marsmet551%20Flickr%29.jpg" style="width: 435px; height: 600px;" /></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">Aside from the financial and economic markers affecting the legal profession, law schools themselves are not helping their own cause to keep the degrees they offer as a sustainable educational path. While there is a sharp decrease in applications, the number of law schools in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> is at an all-time high and, with decreasing enrollment, comes certain pressures.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">Schools work hard to maintain or increase their positions in annual rankings conducted by several organizations like <i>U.S. News and World Report</i>. The coalition explains that there is a certain “perverse incentive to spend more in areas rewarded by the <i>U.S. News</i> formula. Two examples are expenditures per student and faculty-student ratios, which have risen dramatically in the decades since the rankings went into effect.” This signals that law schools are willing to spend more to improve their reputations and increase their standings, but this cost is more likely then not passed on to the students.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">One such method is to lower the tuition for applicants with a higher-than-average GPAs and LSAT scores, but these applicants are statistically less likely to need financial help. This creates a system where the median law school applicant and statistically those from more modest social backgrounds are subsidizing more privileged students by paying full tuition to make up the cost. Such habits might help increase a school’s reputation, but it is clear now that these practices harm relations with possible enrollees. The coalition put forth that “the combination of rising costs, declining applicants, and perverse incentives puts the financial survival of some schools in question.” In many cases, it is possible that there is an imminent decline in quality, as well as the actual closure of the lesser wealthy schools.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="font-family:Arial;&#10;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="font-family:Arial;&#10;color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">Altogether the high student debt, poor employment numbers, and faulty law school practices are combining to significantly devalue the law degree, once regarded as a stable and primary educational path for a comfortable life. Proposed solutions for this issue include awarding different categories of law school degrees to students depending on a commitment of two or three years enrolled and completed. Other ideas include altering the federal loan programs to lessen the burden on graduates who are just starting out.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black">What is certain is that the revered law degree is in jeopardy of losing its esteem and the Coalition of Concerned Colleagues was clear in expressing that “as legal educators, it is our responsibility to grapple with these issues before our institutions are reshaped in ways beyond our control.”</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <strong><span style="color:black">Author Bio:</span></strong><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <span style="color:black"><em>Alexander Ostrovsky is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <em><strong><span style="color: black;">Photos: Marsmet551, Leslie Byk (Creative Commons).</span></strong></em></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">  </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/law-school" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">law school</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/law-degree" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">law degree</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jd" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">jd</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/law-students" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">law students</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/calition-concerned-colleagues" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">calition of concerned colleagues</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/american-bar-association" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">american bar association</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bar" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the bar</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/aba" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">aba</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college-tuition" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college tuition</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/best-colleges" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">best colleges</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/best-law-schools" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">best law schools</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Alexander Ostrovsky</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Leslie Byk (Flickr, Creative Commons)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 02 May 2013 13:17:35 +0000 tara 2784 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2393-devaluation-time-honored-law-degree#comments The Crisis of ‘the Humanities’ https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1268-crisis-humanities <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 07/04/2012 - 19:24</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumrodinthinker.jpg?itok=NK9r0xSB"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumrodinthinker.jpg?itok=NK9r0xSB" width="480" height="361" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> In the current economic climate, and with the boom of the technology industry, college students may be drawn to fields like computer science, business, and avenues of study that lead into specific career paths. On the other hand, many students who graduate with degrees in the liberal arts and humanities struggle financially after graduation, even to the point of <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/From-Graduate-School-to/131795/"> requiring federal assistance</a>. This struggle is part of an ongoing conversation of the “crisis” in the humanities and a concern for those who are trying to succeed with degrees in English, Art, History, and Philosophy, to name a few. The practicality and importance of the humanities  have been debated for a while, with these majors often being ridiculed as “worthless” because they may not directly translate into a successful career. </p> <p>  </p> <p> However, studies show that students are still obtaining these degrees, despite the lack of cultural or financial support. This is perhaps no more striking than at the highest piers of graduate education. Many people with Ph.D.s in the humanities are now graduating without any job prospects; budget cuts are crippling departments in terms of funding, teacher pay and research. Student debt for graduates in the humanities can be crippling, and changes are being made to departments in order to <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/05/16/rethinking-humanities-phd">shorten the length of the Ph.D</a>. in the humanities to as few as four years in some fields, as well as to offer more career counseling and support for a variety of career paths after graduation. </p> <p>  </p> <p> The Humanities departments of the university system, such as History, Philosophy, Art and English, generally <a href="http://www.nhalliance.org/news/humanities-enjoy-strong-student-demand-but-declini.shtml">receive significantly less funding</a>, have fewer opportunities to hire new professors, travel for research, or pay the professors who already earned tenure than departments such as science and engineering, even though they may have the same number (if not more) of students. With prospects looking dismal for many graduates, little funding to help defend departments, and a disheartening conversation hanging  over any prospective graduate or undergraduate student in the humanities, is there any reason to earn a degree in the  field in the 21<sup>st</sup> century?</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Critiques of the Humanities</strong></p> <p> Modern universities are becoming more frequently corporatized, although education cannot be outsourced in the same way that jobs can. The worth of the degree is now evaluated in a system that recognizes job placement and earnings over any other measure of success. With the placement for <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/We-Need-to-Acknowledge-the/64885/">tenure track teaching jobs are continuing to decline</a> at an alarming rate in the humanities, it might not seem practical to devote years to a Ph.D. program when the ideal academic jobs might not exist at the end of the endeavor.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Many other degrees are purposed for specific careers. For example, if someone gets an MBA in accounting, they will do so in order to prepare themselves for a career in accounting. Many people choose to teach with their humanities backgrounds, but many others branch off into unrelated fields. Those who critique the humanities often argue that because the degrees in the humanities are not trade practice for a career, they are currently useless.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Many others critique the humanities because they argue that there is too much subjectivity for measuring success.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Although there are also many advocates around the globe, it is also difficult to defend the humanities against budget cuts. This may be due to there being fewer measurable outcomes in the fields of the humanities. Modern society often seems to value money over academic or cultural pursuits, so success in the humanities might not be recognized as much of a success from other departments that have the ability to illustrate monetary gains for the university. The humanities may also have less funding from former graduates of Philosophy, English and Art departments because graduates from these sectors might not be making the high salaries that graduates from other fields, such as Finance, are earning. Therefore the money does not get pumped back into the system through large donations.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Despite these challenges, departments such as English, History and Philosophy often carry the brunt of the core requirements for the university, such as introductory writing classes, history classes and language classes. In addition, there are many who argue tirelessly for the value of the humanities, and creative initiatives are beginning to take shape in defense of these studies.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumliberalarts.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 485px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> Dr. Gail Houston, chair of the <a href="http://english.unm.edu/">Department of English Language and Literature</a> at the University of New Mexico, argues that the humanities are of both cultural and practical value in their “real world” applications. She points out that “hard sciences and social sciences depend upon metaphor (the stuff of fiction and poetry, Shakespeare and Woolf) to describe abstract algorithms and theories. Lawyers must be very meticulous in the way they use grammar and punctuation: Indeed, a recent court ruling was based entirely on the meaning of a sentence in a legal brief that was missing a comma.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> A number of digital humanities initiatives have arisen in defense of the humanities, and to create more of an online and technological presence or interaction for discussions about the humanities. The site <a href="http://humanistica.ualberta.ca/">4Humanities</a>, founded by Alan Liu in the U.S., Geoffrey Rockwell in Canada, and Melissa Terras in the U.K. includes a dispersed collective that acts as an advisory board. They have started a series of advocacy campaigns, including their "<a href="http://humanistica.ualberta.ca/2011/11/humanities-plain-simple/">Humanities, Plain &amp; Simple</a>" initiative, which puts the value of the humanities into simple prose. The 4Humanities collective has also organized an Outreach Humanities Project that produces interviews and statements from representative or prominent non-humanities or non-academic people willing to speak out on behalf of the humanities.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Among many other outreach projects in the works, this collective is also involved in a Humanities Infographics venture that was inspired by the project from the College of London Centre for the Digital Humanities’ “<a href="http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dh-blog/2012/01/20/infographic-quantifying-digital-humanities/">Quantifying Digital Humanities Infographics</a>” project. The founders point out that the 4Humanities infographics program will clearly illustrate the disparity of the “ecosystem” of the humanities between former times and recent budget cuts. So much for not being able to quantify or measure outcomes in the humanities.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>The real value of the Humanities in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century</strong></p> <p> In the world of business, students with degrees in the humanities may have an upper hand because they may be better equipped to draft reports, write company emails and handbooks, design visually appealing company documents and understand convoluted underwriting. This unexpected advantage of the liberal arts degree is touted by advocates for the humanities and by business representatives alike. For example, Susan de la Vergne’s sites <a href="http://www.liberalartsadvantage.com/">Liberal Arts Advantage</a> and <a href="http://forenglishmajors.wordpress.com/">For English Majors</a> both advocate the important edge students gain in business from these degrees, and give specific examples of how those with degrees in the liberal arts and humanities are vital for increasing an edge in business. </p> <p>  </p> <p> Getting a degree in the humanities not only gives students the ability to focus on what they love and are interested in during their schooling, but it also allows them to do anything they are motivated to do beyond those fields. For example, English and Art majors can easily go into marketing or advertising and put their knowledge of visual and written language and cultural history to succeed in these career paths. Backgrounds in art have also been <a href="http://www.bloomsburyacademic.com/view/PublicValueHumanities_9781849662451/chapter-ba-9781849662451-chapter-0012.xml">shown to increase scientific innovation</a> and creativity and assist in new important research.</p> <p>  </p> <p> If someone with a degree in the humanities is laid off in the current economy, they can easily find other work that requires critical thinking, reading, writing, oral communication skills, and other skill sets that degrees in the liberal arts and humanities emphasize. These degrees give open-minded graduates the ability to navigate difficult texts in order to find another job quickly, which may be in a field they have no experience with. The heavily criticized lack of career path specificity allows students with degrees in subjects such as History, English and Philosophy to look into any career avenue they choose and navigate job changes with ease. </p> <p>  </p> <p> In other words, this is exactly what then makes these degrees valuable in the 21<sup>st</sup> century and in an economy that requires creativity, innovation, critical thinking and a broad skill set for survival.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Emma Mincks is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: Musee Rodin, Paris; Apple Technologies. </strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/humanities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the humanities</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/liberal-arts-degree" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">liberal arts degree</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/philosophy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">philosophy</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/arts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the arts</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/english" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">English</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/university" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">university</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/higher-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">higher education</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college-degree" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college degree</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Emma Mincks</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Musee Rodin, Paris</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 04 Jul 2012 23:24:36 +0000 tara 1206 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1268-crisis-humanities#comments Why Affirmative Action Is Necessary in Higher Education https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1207-why-affirmative-action-necessary-higher-education <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 20:06</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumaffirmativeaction%20%28bamndotcom%29.jpg?itok=3bxmf0g8"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumaffirmativeaction%20%28bamndotcom%29.jpg?itok=3bxmf0g8" width="480" height="301" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/news/">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong><em>Op-Ed</em></strong></p> <p> The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review <em>Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin</em>, a potentially landmark case that could end the use of race-based affirmative action in higher education.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The court ruled nine years ago that although quota systems in admissions processes at colleges and universities were unconstitutional, race can be used as a positive factor, just not a decisive factor.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Court Previously Affirmed Campus Diversity</strong></p> <p> The high court reasoned that considering race as a factor – or race consciousness – in the admissions process is important because a diverse student body improves the education of all students.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Abigail Noel Fisher, along with Rachel Multer Michalewicz, both white, claim they were unconstitutionally denied admission as undergraduates to the University of Texas, Austin (UT-Austin), in 2008, as a result of its affirmative-action policy.</p> <p>  </p> <p> With this new case, the court’s previous ruling that race can be considered as part of the admissions process, is in danger of being overturned.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The Asian American Center for Advancing Justice — Asian American Institute, Asian American Justice Center, Asian Law Caucus and Asian Pacific American Legal Center will be filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold race-conscious admissions.</p> <p>  </p> <p> We need affirmative action policies because not everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. Universities should be allowed to consider the whole person, including one’s experiences as a racial minority, so the opportunities that come from higher education are available to all qualified students.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Asian Americans may appear to be well represented at some of the most selective universities, but among the various Asian ethnic groups, many, such as Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders, continue to be vastly underrepresented. A university should be allowed to consider race as one of many factors in order to promote equal opportunity and educational diversity in its classrooms and on its campus.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Additionally, Asian Americans continue to be underrepresented in corporate sector managerial positions and public contracting. Affirmative-action programs provide Asian Americans with invaluable employment and business opportunities that otherwise would not be available.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Reliance on GPA, SAT Scores Discriminatory</strong></p> <p> Furthermore, affirmative action is needed to offset the racial discrimination captured by the use of admissions criteria, such as grade point average (GPA) and SAT scores.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Without considering race, the use of GPAs and SAT scores in admissions is unfairly biased against minority students. Over-reliance on GPA and SAT scores results in the filtering out of qualified minority applicants whose contributions to the learning environment enhances the competitiveness of all students in the increasingly global and multicultural workforce.</p> <p>  </p> <p> GPAs are not colorblind measures of merit because many students of color, particularly low-income blacks, Latinos and certain Asian and Pacific Islander subgroups continue to attend separate and unequal schools with higher concentrations of poverty, fewer qualified teachers, higher teacher turnover, fewer honors and advanced-placement (AP) courses, greater overcrowding and fewer overall resources — factors that all affect a student’s grades.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Many undergraduate schools, including the University of California and UT-Austin, exacerbate the differences by inflating GPAs or assigning additional weight to an applicant for the completion of AP courses. Even where AP courses are offered, many minority students are unable to take them because they are discriminatorily assigned into lower educational tracks.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Studies have also documented biases in standardized tests, such as the SAT, which disproportionately impact students of color.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Moreover, testing bias is the only logical explanation for the documented and significant racial test score gaps that persist even between white and minority students with identical academic numerical credentials. Students of color should not have their academic achievements diminished based on a four-hour test that cannot fully capture a student’s potential.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Where admissions processes rely too heavily on criteria like GPAs and SAT scores, the reality of how racial discrimination shapes those criteria must be taken into account. Without considering race and culture, the use of such criteria is unfairly biased in favor of white students.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bios:</strong></p> <p> <em>Carolyn Hsu is a voting-rights fellow and Winifred Kao is a staff attorney on employment and workers’ rights, both at the Asian Law Caucus, a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. </em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/06/asians-could-lose-if-high-court-rules-against-college-diversity.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affirmative-action" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">affirmative action</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">diversity</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/higher-education" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">higher education</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/universities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">universities</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/college" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">college</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minority-students" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minority students</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/supreme-court" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supreme Court</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/fisher-vs-university-texas-austin" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Carolyn Hsu and Winifred Kao</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">bamn.com</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:06:42 +0000 tara 1078 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1207-why-affirmative-action-necessary-higher-education#comments