Thursday, April 26, 2012

Higher Education: The New Bubble or Racket

Higher Education is part of the American Dream. We were told when we were in school that if you go to college and work hard that there would be a job waiting for you after graduation. You would be able to buy that home and car along with marrying and starting a family. Fast forward to 2012 and it seems like it is a "dream" deferred. College grads are not finding jobs therefore causing them to stay at home with parents along with student loan debt that they can't repay. The banks which were middle men in the student loan process made off like bandits leaving students with a "handsome Kings Ransom" of loan debt. The Universities have been noted to have inflated the tuition prices knowing that students and parents had the ability to take out student and parent plus loans. It has also been said that Universities were literally banking on the fact that parents could refinance on their homes especially during the housing bubble if necessary to finance their  kids education. Now as an option to seek further education or to escape repayment of loans is the emergence of the online programs. Students are pursuing masters degrees which puts current loans in deferment.  These programs are most times over priced thereby forcing the student to seek further loans which is deeper debt. So who is making money from education? Is it the student? The banks? The universities and online programs? The answer is clearly not the student.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Trayvon Martin Case: Race Revisited

The Trayvon Martin tragedy has cause  the conversation to arise on whether America is post-racial. This tragedy was caused by profiling which is rooted in racism. The fact that a large amount of African American surveyed feels that race caused this tragedy but only a small portion of Whites believe it was race induced screams polarization. We have to be honest as a nation that the ills of slavery, Jim Crow Laws, and other unfair institutional practices to African American and other minorities has had a long lasting effect that has not subsided. Some would say that racism does not exist because we have an African American President or that we have Blacks that are famous such as Oprah or Jordan. These are just individuals and should not be used to accurately describe the state of racial affairs in America. We can look at the disrespectful disdain from GOP members against the President. They have made racial remarks, racial cartoons, etc. in the media about an African American President. They have made threatening remarks about the President based on Race.
Every Black male know that we are judged by our color first in society. Women still clutch their purses when walking near Black men whether the men are college educated or not. These fears are based on racial stereotypes that are still played out in the media in 2012 although slavery was abolished in 1865. We are in denial if we say that racism does not exist. We have to face the problem with simple open minded discussion.