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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 29, 2012)
PaSe6________________________ ■"“ Portland Observer Black History Month _________________ February 29, 2012 College Dropouts Cost Everyone Support students to ensure they graduate J udge G reg M athis O ftentim es, w hen we think o f a student w ho drops out o f college, we think o f how that will affect them . W e becom e co n ce rn e d about the lim ited career o p tio n s and d ecreased earning potential th e y ’ll face w ithout a college degree. R arely do we think o f the cost to the larger society. But we should. C ollege dro p o u ts cost taxpayers bil lions in both the short and long term . W e ow e it to them , and ourselves, to ensure they co m plete their education. A new report show s that states allo cated m ore than $6 billion to four year colleges and universities over a five year period to pay for the education o f stu dents w ho did not return for their second by year. T he study also show s that the federal governm ent and states to g eth er spent alm ost $3 billion on grants for students w ho didn't start th eir so p h o m ore year. In a depressed econom y, it’s p articu larly disturbing to learn that m oney is essentially being w asted to pay for educations that are not being received. H o w ever, the answ er is not, as m any critics suggest, to dis courage students w ho m ay not be ready for college from a tte n d in g . R ath er, schools and the g o v e rn m ent m ust w ork together to figure out how w e can support students throughout their college careers and ensure they graduate. G raduating from college is a great personal achievem ent. D oing so can d ra m atically change the g rad u a te ’s quality o f life. C ollege graduates earn alm ost $ 1 m illion m ore o ver the course o f their career than those w ith a high school diploma. But it’s not ju st the g ra d u a te ’s w ho win. T he additional m oney they earn is then put b ack into the econom y. A d d i tionally, a m ore educated w orkforce helps lift the A m erican eco n o m y since the w orkers co m p an ies have to choose from the skills to handle all that is required o f them . That isn ’t alw ays the case. F ro m d e a lin g w ith in c re a s e d fin a n c ial p re s su re s th a t c o m e w ith p a y in g fo r sc h o o l to ju g g lin g a m o re rig o ro u s c o u rs e lo ad , to n ew so c ial p re ssu re s, c o lle g e is a d iffe re n t w o rld an d , u n fo r tu n a te ly , m an y stu d e n ts c ra c k u n d e r th e p re s su re . S chools m ust w ork to in crease their student service pro gram s to provide financial, aca dem ic and psychological co u n seling to students at every step o f th eir academ ic career. C ollege readiness is not a l w ays d eterm in ed by acad em ics; w e m ust take the n eces sary steps to ensure o u r kids are able to handle all o f the new p ressu res and resp o n sib ilities o f college. Making sure our young people finish college isn’t important to just their personal success; it’s key to our continued growth as a society. will be m ore qualified. M aking sure o u r y o u n g people finish co lleg e is n ’t im portant to ju st th eir p er sonal success; it’s key to o u r co n tin u ed grow th as a society. M ost parents, and society at large, ex pect young adults attending college to have Judge Mathis is a longtime advo cate fo r equal justice. His live story o f a street youth who rose from jail to judge has provided hope to millions. Taking Power at the B allot B ox We must keep the public on our side C ohen In a previous opinion piece, I s u g g e s te d th a t th e O c c u p y M ovem ent will likely hit a wall if it d o e sn ’t link its street dissent to the ballot box. Protest and d isruption alone will never put this country in our hands. It is im perative that w e m ove aw ay from a m indset o f ch allenging p o w er to one o f tak ing pow er by changing our focus from pressuring the pow ers that be to becom ing the pow ers that be. But how ? First and forem ost, we m ust keep the public on our side by going beyond agitating and re sisting, tactics that in the end can only get us a w atered dow n o u t those num bers there is no g o v com e. T o rem ain credible our ernm ent of, by and for the people. m ovem ent m ust lay out a b e liev N ow is the tim e for the O c able plan to the solutions and cupy M ovem ent to call fo r a vision we propose, a path that is national sum m it to target the perceived as doable, and that needed 218 + 60 con g ressio n al rem ains n o n v io len t! seats, and that p uts O ccupy c a n by R ich It must go beyond jobs to a deeper more visceral appeal that can actually get us to those jobs and to governing authority. T he p o w er center o f our co u n did ates in each targeted state. try is the U. S. C ongress, c o n T he goal is to m obilize victories trolled by W all S treet m ajorities fo r c o n g re ssio n a l and sen ate in the H ouse and Senate. T o seats, that o v er tim e, inch us up replace their m ajorities w ith ours to the m ajo rities needed. we m ust w in 218 seats in the O ccupy supporters should use H ouse and a 60 seat filibuster the next several years to build m ajority in the Senate. W ithout the kind o f relationships and public il!t JJortland ODbserUer Established 1970 USPS 959-680 __________________________________ 47 47 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 Charles H. Washington EmroK.Michael L eighton D istr ibu tio n M anager : M ark W ashington C reative D irector : P aul N e u feld t trust to give o u r can d id ates c re d ibility and electio n victories. T he decisive w inning factor in each electio n w ill be o u r m es sage, one th at is c o m p ellin g , m otiv atin g and can be heard and t r u s t e d o v e r th e c o r p o r a te bullhorn. It m ust go b eyond jo b s to a d eep er m ore visceral appeal that can actu ally get us to those jo b s and to g o v ern in g authority. In m y view no m essage is p otentially m ore im pacting and inspiring than speaking directly to w ho w e are as A m ericans. W e are literally b o m into o w n er ship o f this dem ocracy. W e, not W all Street, are the source o f p o w er in the U n ited S tates w ith an inherited birth rig h t to govern. T h at m eans reclaim in g and c o n trolling w hat w e ow n by assert ing o u r o w n ersh ip authority, and affirm ing, that never again w ill W all S treet have o u r obedience. T o acquire a pride o f o w n er ship m indset, w e need to review o u r ch erish ed docu m en ts (D ec laration o f Independence, C o n stitution, Bill o f R ights, etc.) that define and guide us b ack to our A m erican core. T here w e find the fo u r ch am b ers o f the A m eri can heart -d e m o c ra c y , ju stice, eq u ality and freedom that bless us w ith an authentic patriotism elev atin g the “general w elfare” over selfish individualism . A m erican revolutionaries Tho m as Jefferson and T om Paine urged us to reclaim o u r spirit o f rebellion, w ithout w hich d em o c racy c an n o t su rv iv e, an d re m inded us that “w e have it in our p o w er to begin the w orld over a g a i n .” T o g e th e r , W e T h e People can m ake it so! Rich Cohen is a local activ ist and Occupy Portland or ganizer. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. 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