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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2016)
July 6, 2016 Page 7 O PINION Your Carpet Best Cleaning Choice Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $45.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Breaking Barriers to Earn a College Degree Congratulations Class of 2016 M arC h. M orial Congratulations, graduates. Whether you’ve walked across a stage to receive your high school diploma and begin your journey into a new world of independence, or you finally have your college diploma and are ready to step out into a world outside of lec- ture halls and dorms, you deserve much congratulations on your achievement. Today, you are set to begin a new chapter in your life. Cele- brate and bask in your well-de- served feeling of accomplishment now, because tomorrow is a new day and there is much work to be done. Two years from now, it is pro- jected that over 60 percent of all jobs will require some college ed- ucation. As you prepare to become a part of the American workforce with your degree securely in hand, our nation faces a looming cri- sis because we are not producing enough men and women like you: graduates. College enrollment and attain- ment rates have been steadily increasing in our country across racial and ethnic groups, but the problem is not that there are not enough people enrolling in col- lege. The problem is that there are not enough people finishing col- by lege. And from among those who do attain that now vital postsec- ondary degree, large racial divides in degree attainment persist. If we, as a nation, do not com- mit to figuring out what it takes to graduate from college, we risk di- minishing the lives of our citizens, who are more likely to find better and better-paying work with a de- dream and work hard to one day be in your shoes may see their dream deferred or discontinued because of financial need, academic un- preparedness and perhaps even coming from a non-college-going culture. When you translate those barri- ers to obtaining a college degree into hard numbers, the statistics The solutions to college attainment and completion will be both economic and social—from providing students with grants and low-interest loans, to providing better teachers in our grade schools and middle schools... gree. We risk the loss of critical skills and training that will keep our national economy prosper- ous and thriving. And we risk our country’s ability to remain com- petitive in the global, 21st century workforce. At the National Higher Educa- tion Summit hosted by the Nation- al Urban League and USA Funds, a nonprofit corporation that en- hances preparation for, access to and success in postsecondary ed- ucation, panelists addressed many of the obstacles that derail college completion for students of color. Many young men and women who are sobering. Over the period from 1990 to 2014, the gap be- tween whites and blacks attain- ing a bachelor’s or higher degree widened from 13 to 18 percentage points, and the gap between whites and Hispanics widened from 18 to 26 percentage points, according to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics. As long as large numbers of students of color remain ill pre- pared to navigate and succeed in our postsecondary system of ed- ucation, we will continue to have an urgent, national conversation about income inequality. The lack of financial aid that doesn’t drown students in future debt, the lack of high-quality teachers in K-12 in communities of color and the lack of guidance from professionals about the college experience is a recipe for disaster that will contin- ue to trap our nation’s future into poverty. You see, when a young man or woman is denied access to opportunity through education, we all lose. The solutions to college at- tainment and completion will be both economic and social—from providing students with grants and low-interest loans, to provid- ing better teachers in our grade schools and middle schools and providing academic remediation for students who need support with college courses. A college ed- ucated populace and workforce is a national imperative that requires the across-the-board support and collaboration of all stakeholders, from families to education profes- sionals, employers and politicians. Despite whatever obstacles you may have faced, you have earned a degree that is promised to reward you with a life you may not have had without that diploma. You have worked hard to be given ac- cess to jobs and opportunities that your degree merits. You have beat the odds. Now go out and change the world! Marc H. Morial is president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League. 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