by Margaret Curtis, PhD
Why does insanity in higher education shock anybody? The
James Holmes story offers a single case, but the Fiscal Times piles on the
evidence with “10 Public Colleges with Insanely Luxurious Dorms.”
These schools include University of Michigan-North Quadrangle
Residential and Academic Complex, Georgia State University-University Commons,
University of Cincinnati-Campus Recreation Center Housing, and seven more
demonstrations of a national obsession with extravagant wealth.
Amenities at Penn State University's Eastview Terrace complex
include the following:
“This complex offers upperclassmen
fully furnished single rooms with private bathrooms. Rooms are wired for TV
cable, with dozens of popular channels and Internet access; there are also
refrigerators and microwaves. All of the buildings have mail pickup and delivery."
Where are the
editorials complaining that the public cannot afford such lavish accommodations
for students taking their lessons at the public trough? This article mentions
students jumping and down with glee, but what about parents jumping up and down
with exasperation?
Is a college
education supposed to place the student in an expensive hotel? Is s/he blessed automatically
with TV channels, upon registration? What does any of this costly apparatus have
to do with learning subjects requiring long hours NOT watching TV, but studying
in a library or working in a laboratory?
As the US continues
to fight its way out of recession, such lavish expenditures should grate on the
nation’s conscience. They should not appear as bragging. They should not be
attracting students or parents who complain about the staggering costs of
higher education.
As for mail pickup
and delivery, running back and forth to a mail-room hurts no one. In fact, it provides
a promising preventive against obesity. Sitting or lying on a couch watching TV
accomplishes the opposite. Overall, conditioning students to believe they
should be treated like monarchs wherever they go gives the lie to democracy.
How can students
appreciate the real amenities of life if they never experience the drudgery of
earning and paying for them? Where do American students rank in math and
reading skills among their international competition? What is more insane here—unaffordable
luxuries or complaints about problems with economical solutions?
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