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^

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