I'M OFFENDED! OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN A GOOD LOOK AT ALL COLLEGE STUDENTS, BECAUSE YOUR STEREOTYP SURE DOESN'T FIT ME. On Thu, 11 Nov 1999, Ralph Walter wrote: Speaking as a longtime habitue' of college towns: You better believe it! The old-time model of an undergraduate student who sleeps in a crowded dorm or barracks and washes dishes to put him or herself through school: not any more. Among other things, it is no longer physically possible for an 18-year-old to earn enough money from part-time wages to cover tuition and expenses, unless he or she earns hundreds of dollars an hour. THIS PART AT LEAST IS TRUE. Further, the students nowadays, even at state schools like Michigan and Michigan State, come from affluent backgrounds and have no patience for the military-style deprivation that past generations of college students tolerated. I HAVE PAID FOR EVERY SINGLE CENT OF MY EDUCATION, LIVING EXPENSES, AND TRANSPORTATION EVER SINCE I TURNED 18. MY HOUSE IN OHIO IS NOT AIR-CONDITIONED, HAS NO DISHWASHER, HAS NO CLOTHES WASHER OR DRYER, HAS ONLY 1 TELEPHONE, NO CABLE, AND NO INTERNET ACCESS. COMPARED TO THAT, THESE 10'x15' DORM ROOMS ARE A LUXURY, EVEN THOUGH THE RESIDENT HALL I STAY IN HAS NO AIRCONDITONING AND NO CABLE EITHER. Today, it would be an exceptional college junior who doesn't have a nice car, a Pentium-class computer with laser printer and scanner, a private apartment, a cellphone, not to mention all the ordinary technological bric-a-brac like a stereo, a microwave oven, a telephone answering machine, a large screen color TV, etc., etc. I BOUGHT MY '89 DODGE DYNASTY WITH MY OWN HARD-EARNED MONEY. MONEY FROM MY NUMEROUS JOBS, STARTING AT AGE 14 IN A GARDEN CENTER AND CONTINUING THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE AS A WAITRESS, DAYCARE WORKER, AND LIBRARIAN. BOTH MY CAR AND MY INSURANCE POLICY ARE IN MY NAME. MY COMPUTER WAS A GRADUATION/CHRISTMAS/BIRTHDAY GIFT FROM MY PARENTS AND DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY TYPE OF PRINTER OR SCANNER. You don't have to be very old to remember a time when the average college student had *none* of those things. Sign me, Washed Dishes in College THROUGH HARD WORK AND DETERMINATION, I HAVE MANAGED TO PAY FOR EVERY NECESSITY EXCEPT HEALTH INSURANCE. I HAVE DONE WELL ENOUGH IN SCHOOL, DESPITE LONG HOURS AT VARIOUS JOBS, TO EARN A FULL-TUITION SCHOLARSHIP TO SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY, AS WELL AS SIX SMALL INDEPENDANT SCHOLARSHIPS. YET, I CONTINUE TO WORK TO EARN MONEY FOR GAS, AUTO INSURANCE AND REPAIRDS, FOOD, CLOTHES, MINIMAL MEDICAL EXPENSES, AND OTHER EXPENDITURES. I FEEL IT IS UNFAIR TO JUDGE GENERATION X BY A FEW INDIVIDUALS. WE AREN'T ALL IRRESPONSIBLE, SPOILED BRATS. SOME OF US HAVE LEARNED THE VALUE OF HARD WORK. CAVER CHRIS ^V^ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com