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. The Portland Observer--Oregons Oldest Multicultural Publication—it a member of the NationalNewspaper Association-
-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association
E ditor -I n -C hief , P ublisher :
CALL 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-00/5
n£h'i@port.landobserYer,com
ads@portlandobserver.com
subscnption@portlandobserver.com
P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer, P 0 Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR9 7 2 0 8