Do I have the right to a college education?

by Ryan Briscoe
Cardinal Staff


I recently did a significant amount of research regarding the monies that are spent supporting students who are pursuing post-secondary education. It is amazing all of the scholarships and student-work programs that have been established. It seems to me that now, more than ever before, America’s young people have the chance to realize the American Dream.

When I say the ‘American Dream’ I am referring to the idea that in this nation there are no class barriers that limit a young person’s potential. Accordingly, by virtue of his or her work, a young person can become whoever he or she wants to be. A corporate executive, the discoverer of the cure for AIDS, a community organizer, the president - the sky’s the limit!

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However, what I perceive now in our culture at large is a dangerous sentiment of privilege. Have we lost sight of the value of a hard day’s work? A strong, capitalist society (e.g. America) will always require the efforts of its citizens. Our society must recognize the inherent value of all types of work, skilled and unskilled, that are contributed to it and dismiss this idea that says that all people are guaranteed success.

The reality is that when a student starts out on his own, he should expect to enjoy only 1/3 of the luxury he has been accustomed to during his childhood. For many students this is problematic; they overspend and accumulate debt because they expect a life of luxury. The average student owes $2,700 in discretionary spending. These costs are unrelated to education payments and are purely from spending. (Source: InCharge Institute of America) This reflects the current value of work in our society; it seems we’ve forgotten that the standard of living is merit-based.

Since its founding, America has become known as the “Land of Opportunity”; how much longer before it is know as the “Land of Entitlement?”