By Anna Griffin, The Oregonian May perhaps 04, 2010, 6:03PM University college students experiment. They adjust hairstyles, majors, even sexual orientations. And at Reed University, as on most campuses, some experiment with illegal drug treatments. That’s the way it is
School cafeterias are such as the hotels with the school globe. But rather than bathroom towels, college students acquire residence plates, bowls, cups and silverware. Using the college year or so ending, it really is time for dish amnesty. Local
NEWTON, Mass., Might 27, 2010 (Company WIRE) — The dream of pursuing a greater training just became reality for Michele Sanborn of Chicago, IL and Tiffany Mink of Bristol, VA, the two grand-prize winners of Upromiseby Sallie Mae’s annual Tuition
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton told Yale seniors on Sunday to listen to people with whom they disagree. In a Class Day speech that included points similar to a commencement address he gave a week ago in West Virginia, the Yale Law School alum said today’s college graduates will be left to deal with a world that has three major problems. “It is too unstable; it is too unequal, and it is completely unsustainable,” Clinton said. He urged them to change that, and said that will mean working together. “One problem we have in the modern world is, we’ve got access to more information than ever before, but we don’t all listen to the same information,” he said. A tidbit of information Clinton didn’t give the Yale seniors was that he was involved in a minor traffic accident on the way to the event. State police Lt. J. Paul Vance said Clinton’s secret service van was in a minor accident just north of New Haven on the Merritt Parkway when it was hit from behind. “There was no injury, no endangerment to Clinton,” Vance said. “The motorcade continued on to its destination, and we’re piecing it all together.” Clinton told WTIC-TV that the accident was a fluke. “It was one of those deals where everybody in the passing lane slowed down, and we all slowed down, and one person didn’t,” he said. “It happened to be the person behind us.” During his speech, Clinton told Yale seniors that while the country is less sexist, racist and homophobic than it once was, people today only want to be around those who agree with them. “In our media habits, we go to the television sites, we go to the radio talk shows, we go to the blog sites that agree with us, and it can have very bizarre consequences” he said, citing the controversy over the origin of President Obama’s birth certificate by “birthers” who claim Obama was not a natural-born U.S. citizen, and thus unqualified to hold the presidency. He also warned that as information becomes more available, so does the potential for its misuse. He noted that Faisal Shahzad, the man accused of attempting to bomb Times Square, received a college degree in the United States before flying back to Pakistan to train as a terrorist. “It shows you that when you tear down all the walls, and you can break through all the barriers of information, that the same things that empower you to get access to more information more quickly than ever before could empower you to build bombs,” he said. “It’s an unstable world.” Clinton said he believes the mission of every empowered person in the world should be to increase the positive forces and decrease the negative forces of the world’s interdependence. “We have to be relentlessly committed to change,” he said. “And change is hard.” Clinton’s wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was Class Day speaker in 2001, and received an honorary degree last year. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Phoenix may possibly even now be reeling from the housing crash and bum economy, but school graduates seem to feel it is the spot being. The city follows Atlanta to take second spot, but makes the “Top 10 Very best
Meet four “non-traditional” students, who are juggling jobs, budgets and parenting in the pursuit of a college degree. Dennis Medina, Kathryn McCormick, Shane Burrows, Brandon Krapf and Charnee Ball share their journeys, as part of the ” Take America to College ” project, where their stories are featured in a week-long series of videos starting Monday, May 24. Have questions about the participants’ college experiences? Leave them in the comments, or save them for a live discussion with four of the students, on May 26, 2010 at 1 p.m. ET . Set an e-mail reminder for the discussion in the window below. Chat with the students
The Texas State Board of Education was set to vote Friday on changes to social studies standards that have angered and, in some cases, baffled critics, including President George W. Bush ‘s first education secretary, who is protesting the politicization of the process. Among the proposed changes: calling the USA’s slave trade the “Atlantic triangular trade” and minimizing the role of Thomas Jefferson , who espoused a strict separation of church and state. The new standards set curriculum for millions of Texas school children and lay the groundwork for textbooks and standardized tests for a decade. But the changes could also carry outsized influence because Texas is a large state — textbooks sold to other states often carry content tailored to Texas specifications. On Thursday, former U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige , a one-time Houston superintendent, said the proposed standards are too detailed and “take away a lot of the latitude of the teachers” in designing curricula. He also worries that teachers, focused increasingly on getting their students to pass state skills tests, will be “very, very concerned about the standards” and ensure that students learn the content. Paige testified before the board on Wednesday about the growing politicization of education. In an interview Thursday, he said he understands the point of view of several state board members, who this week said they are simply bringing balance to a set of standards that skew leftward. But Paige said, “This political swaying between left and right is retarding our ability to have an effective educational delivery system in the United States of America.” Paige, who is African-American, said the proposed Texas standards “drastically understate the influence of slavery and the Civil Rights movement in our national story – it almost suggests that students will be learning that our liberties – and especially African-Americans’ freedoms – were kind of gently acquired. The liberty and freedoms that African-Americans enjoy were born out of struggle – deep struggle. {hellip} nobody just woke up in the morning and said, ‘O.K., you’re free.” NAACP President Ben Jealous said he was “stunned” to learn of the change in reference to slavery. “You can’t take slavery out of the slave trade,” he said. “Our children need to be taught the whole truth – not half of it.” Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This is a preview of a week-long video series starting Monday, May 24 about people who are veterans, single parents, full-time workers — and students, too. Click “see trailers” (above, left) now for the preview, and check back here, students2.usatoday.com , next week for the full video on each featured student. What comes to mind when you hear “college student”? To many Americans , it’s someone who goes to college straight from high school, lives in a dorm, and gets a degree four years later. But things have changed. Three-fourths of today’s students no longer fit that traditional model. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, about half of today’s students are financially independent; 49% are enrolled part-time; 38% work full time; 27% have dependents of their own. Almost half — 12 million — attend two-year community colleges rather than four-year schools. And most students who start college don’t finish. Only 56% of students at four-year colleges complete a degree within six years, and just 20% of first-time students at public community colleges get a degree or certificate within three years. In their own words A video project dubbed “Take America to College” aims to tell the story of today’s non-traditional college students in their own words and images. The project organizers in January put out a casting call and more than 200 nontraditional college students responded by sending in their stories; 78 uploaded audition videos. Five were chosen to represent the millions of students who struggle to complete a college degree. They are: •Dennis Medina, a police officer and a night student at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston; •Kathryn McCormick, a single mom who waitresses 35 hours a week and is enrolled at Valencia Community College in Orlando •Shane Burrows, who works full-time as a sales assistant while studying at Sierra Community College in Rocklin, Calif.; •Brandon Krapf, an Iraq war veteran studying at American University in Washington, D.C.; •Charnee Ball, a Navy veteran, also at Valencia Community College in Orlando The students each received $500 and won a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with policymakers. Their stories are featured in a week-long series of videos airing online here at students2.usatoday.com starting May 24. The videos are produced by Purple States TV, a media company that uses both professionally filmed and self-filmed video footage to dramatize issues of public policy, in collaboration with DCTV and the Seattle-based social marketing firm Banyan Branch, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Kodak donated Zi8 Pocket Video Cameras used by the students to capture and share their stories. Real students, real stories More background on the five team members and their stories: •Dennis Medina — a Boston police officer chosen for the team in an online contest. “I’m not your stereotypical student,” Medina says. “I wear plain clothes with the Boston Police Department Youth Violence Strike Force also known as the gang unit. When I was employed by the corrections office, I started taking college classes, but money got tight, and life got in the way. When I moved to the Boston Police Department, I realized that without a college degree I couldn’t further my career. I can only take one or two classes a semester. Going to college is almost impossible … I have court during the day, then I have my regular shift which is 4 p.m. to midnight. I also have family obligations. I live with my wife, two sons and a daughter and my grandson also lives with us.” •Kathryn McCormick — A single parent and full-time waitress, studying to become a physician assistant. “Each year I take out about $15,000 in student loans to pay my bills. This is an incredibly large amount of money that is going to take me a long time to pay off when I get out of school,” she says. “It’s also not enough to pay my bills. I still have to work. The program I’m trying to get in is extremely competitive and I need every single ounce of my time that I can possibly squeeze out of my day to make sure that my grades are perfect. I’d love to see a change in financial aid as far as the one-size-fits-all cap that they have. It doesn’t matter whether you are a single mom of two kids and struggling and working and trying to do the best that you can. A person who’s a single person still gets the same amount of money as you do. That’s really hard.” •Shane Burrows — Works full time as a sales assistant while accumulating college credits toward an associates degree; he wants to be a music teacher. He is having trouble completing his degree because core courses aren’t available in the evenings, or are being cut because of California’s budget crisis. “When I turned 18, I dropped out of college and worked two jobs because I just couldn’t afford to pay for my education,” he says. “I lost my mom when I was only 7. My dad could only afford to provide a house over our heads, food, clothing, and basics to get by. I needed to work to live and unfortunately I had to put school on the side. After taking five years off school, I decided to go back part time at a junior college. I work full time and quit my second job so I could have time for school. I would love to take more than four classes a semester but I can barely afford to live let alone pay for classes and books. I’m drowning in debt and on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. With rising tuition costs and budget cuts cutting classes, I feel like I’ll never finish.” •Brandon Krapf — an Iraq war veteran, now in the Army reserves and a senior at American University, in Washington, D.C. “When you get the GI Bill it’s supposed to cover tuition but you end up living off of it. They don’t come and tell you, ‘Oh hey, listen, you also have to cover books, rent and your regular bills on top of that.” Luckily with the post 9-11 GI Bill it’s been a lot easier for student vets but there’s still been a lot of troubles with it, especially last semester when they had a huge influx of new applications for the GI Bill. Going to school’s probably put me in debt with student loans a good $100,000 dollars.” •Charnee Ball — Navy veteran who wants to be an aviation mechanic. She is not receiving GI benefits because she was discharged under the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. “I know the people who make those decisions think it’s for the greater good, but believe me, there’s been so many qualified technicians and officers and people who went and did their job and served their country that have been discharged for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I did my job. I served my country. And when I need it most, I’m not eligible (for benefits). So it’s really hard for me to make it through, to realize my dream of becoming an aviation mechanic. Right now I’m about $38,000 in debt from student loans. It is a struggle every day to find the money to make ends meet.” Have questions about the students’ college experiences? Leave them in the comments, or save them for a live discussion with Take America to College participants on May 26, 2010 at 1 p.m. ET. You can set an e-mail reminder for the chat in the window below. Chat with the students
OAKLAND (AP) — It’s never too late to earn your college degree. Just ask 94-year-old Hazel Soares. The San Leandro woman was one of about 500 students to pick up diplomas Saturday during a commencement ceremony at Mills College , an Oakland liberal arts college for women that also offers coed graduate programs. “It’s taken me quite a long time because I’ve had a busy life,” said Soares. “I’m finally achieving it, and it makes me feel really good.” Soares, who has six children and 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is believed to be the world’s second oldest person to graduate from college. Nola Ochs (OAKS) of Kansas became the oldest when she graduated from Fort Hays State University three years ago at age 95, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Ochs, now 98, topped that academic feat Saturday, when she received her master’s degree in liberal studies from Fort Hays. The nonagenarians are earning their degrees as the Obama administration pushes to once again make the United States the world leader in college attainment by 2020. Born in Richmond, Calif. in 1915, Soares said she had wanted to attend college right after she graduated from Roosevelt High School in Oakland in 1932, but that was during the Great Depression . “Unless you had some help, it would have been impossible to go to college,” Soares said. “However I never lost the desire to go.” Soares married twice, raised six children and worked as a nurse and event organizer before she retired and decided to return to pursue her dream of obtaining a college education. She spent six years taking courses at Chabot College in Hayward before earning her associate’s degree when she was 85. Then she enrolled at Mills College in 2007. “We are really amazed and very proud of my mom,” said Regina Hungerford, Soares’ youngest child. “The biggest thing that we can all learn is that we’re never too old.” At Saturday’s commencement, she was congratulated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , who delivered the keynote speech. She was cheered by her classmates and more than 40 family members. “She’s really an incredible inspiration,” said Sandeep Brar, who also graduated Saturday. Soares doesn’t plan to relax now that she finally has her degree. The art history major hopes to work as a docent at a San Francisco Bay area museum. Soares said she doesn’t know the source of her longevity — no one in her family has lived as long as she has — but she believes it has something to do with eating lots of fresh vegetables. She still drives, and she visits her doctor only once every three years to make sure she’s OK. She said she doesn’t take any prescription medications. She hopes others realize that it’s never too late to get a college education. “There’s no reason why you could not go back,” Soares said. “Some people do give up the idea or postpone the idea. It’s too late. It’s too much work. They may not realize that once you try it it’s exciting to go to school.” Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama challenged George Washington University graduates at their commencement Sunday to “keep giving” through community service work and to “keep engaging” with the world. Obama spoke to some 5,000 graduates and their families at the ceremony on the National Mall . She agreed to be their speaker after students, faculty and staff met her challenge to complete 100,000 hours of community service. “I have one more request to make of you, one more challenge,” Obama said during her speech. “Keep going. Keep giving. Keep engaging.” Graduates in black robes cheered as Obama spoke with the Capitol behind her. The university said that 163,000 hours had actually been worked. Obama noted many of the accomplishments: improving a Washington school, visiting with veterans, teaching English to refugees and shoveling snow during a record winter snow storm. But she urged students to continue the work, both in the United States and abroad. She said serving would make “the world safer” and make the students “more competitive.” “So many of today’s challenges are borderless — from the economy to terrorism, to climate change … more than any other generation yours is fully convinced that you’re uniquely equipped to solve those challenges,” said Obama, who spoke for about 30 minutes. She expressed confidence in the graduates. “You guys can’t be stopped. You don’t know the meaning of the word can’t. And every time someone’s tried to tell you that you’ve replied what? Oh yes, we can,” Obama said, a refrain President Obama used during his campaign. Obama said that at her husband’s inauguration, “he pledged to seek a new era of American engagement, and he asked each of us to embrace anew our duties to ourselves, our nation and the world.” “Now I’m not a president. I’m just a citizen. But as a citizen I’m asking you as graduates of this global institution to seize those responsibilities gladly,” she said. “I’m asking you to play your part.” Graduates said the first lady’s words moved them and had motivated them during the year. Gilbert Rein, 21, a graduate from Marlboro, New Jersey, said he had always done volunteer work with his fraternity, but the first lady’s challenge pushed them to do more. “This year we went above and beyond,” he said. Rein, who is going to law school, said he plans to do pro bono work to continue to give back. Saturday’s speech was not the only commencement address the first lady has given this year. Earlier this month she spoke at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a historically black college. Obama, who graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School, will also speak next month at the graduation of Anacostia Senior High School in Washington, a public school she visited last year as part of her mentoring program for young women. During the ceremony, George Washington University president Steven Knapp presented Obama with an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree. Pianist and composer Dave Brubeck and entrepreneur A. James Clark also received honorary degrees at the commencement. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.