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going to college

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief,
Publisher

The debate over the value of a college education continues. If anything, it has intensified, with the answer usually given in relative earnings over a lifetime, as if we were evaluating buying a house compared to renting an apartment. While education has its economic side, there is so much more to consider on the subject.

First the obvious. A four year college degree has always been thought of as a ticket to a better life because of the financial advantages it is thought to offer. College grads, in the main, earn higher wages, suffer lower unemployment, and as a result of having more income, enjoy better health and easier access to home ownership, the traditional wealth builder.

However, today there are jobs that don’t require a college degree but do pay well. These might include those in construction, those that offer professional certificates in technology, bootcamp coding, in short jobs that come with trade school degrees, associate degrees or apprenticeships. This path works if the student already has such a goal and knows what he or she wants to do.

But what else do students get from a college experience besides, perhaps, a substantial amount  of debt? Student debt is the highest category of debt in the United States, totaling $1.76 trillion according to recent data. That is the result of private colleges averaging $223,200 over the course of four years, and even public institutions costing $104,000.

So what could make college worth the price? For starters, how many 17-year-olds know what career they want for the rest of their lives? College gives students a chance to discover themselves, be exposed to different disciplines and see what appeals to them. Those years are unlike any other, if the student is fortunate for the luxury of their focus on study without other responsibilities, like holding a job, caring for a spouse and children, paying a car loan or even a mortgage. So often, students enter college with vague ideas of a major only to switch dramatically by the third year.

College students often have opportunities for travel, for research and certainly to network professionally and socially. Just meeting others from different regions, religions and cultures provides enormous knowledge and often encourages friendships that last a lifetime. While those possibilities certainly exist for those outside a college environment, the bonding that results from sharing a campus and even a dorm increases those contacts. College is a privileged cocoon in which to grow up.

Some of the debate about the value of college has been brought on by the colleges themselves. While historically over the last half century prices have risen perhaps three percent, the annual cost of college has increased by six percent. There had to be a time of reckoning as a result of that disparity, and the time has now come.

College offers knowledge, which is not so say that people cannot learn outside of those base paths. College also offers education, which is somewhat different in my opinion. Anyone can learn facts. Just reading the daily newspapers or books conveys knowledge. A college education, however, is a more systematized attempt to show how different disciplines developed, leading to today. It encourages personal and intellectual growth in a structured way.

Education, and more is better, is a tremendous benefit not only to the individual but also to society. We have an example of that with the GI Bill after WWII. That legislation made it possible for millions of people of ordinary means to gain a college degree. What followed was an unprecedented half century of growth and prosperity for the United States. Education was the ladder that made such possible.

Today we are facing the opposite. As a result of the pandemic, education has suffered a substantial setback for our students, a gap we may never bridge. And further debate over the value of education in a college setting is further risk for progress. Other nations put so much importance on education that they make college free for all their members. We are going in the opposite direction at considerable risk to our national standing.

It would be nice if all youngsters experienced the tremendous satisfaction of learning. To attend college in order to get the diploma is one thing. For some of the reasons stated above, that can be a goal. But to learn for the sake of learning, and not just to do well on Jeopardy!, is another. 

To make that clearer, I would liken the brain to a muscle. When we exercise the muscle systematically and regularly, it grows and becomes stronger. It also feels good to experience that exercise, especially after a visit to the gym. The more we stretch the brain with knowledge, the more it will grow. And with growth, life becomes more satisfying. No one wants to stagnate.

My mother, who passionately valued education, used to say, “Someone might take away your possessions, but no one can take away your education.” In our world, with so much uncertainty, how clever it would be to build on something so secure as education. And to graduate from college is to acquire more of that great asset, for ourselves and our country.

Now all we have to do is figure out how to make our higher education free. 

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By Fr. Francis Pizzarelli

Father Frank Pizzarelli

It’s hard to believe that the summer is almost over. Many of our college students are already getting ready to begin college for the first time and/or returning back for another full semester.

As our college freshmen are preparing to leave for school for the first time, I am sure there is a lot of excitement about being away, being on one’s own, but also some anxiety on how to manage all of this freedom.

College is not high school where everyone was constantly reminding you of everything you needed to take care of. It is in college where you learn how to act as an independent and responsible adult. No one will chase after you regarding getting to class on time, coming home at a reasonable hour or handing in assignments when they are due.

Time management is in your hands. You will have to design a schedule that works for you. Balance is probably the most important concept that you must learn during your first semester.

It is very easy to get lost in all of the newfound freedom. It’s easy to lose sight of what’s important and how to balance everything out. Balance is not just about your schoolwork and your school related activities; it also relates to your social life and your mental health.

Too many young people are still suffering from post -pandemic stress and anxiety; they have become overwhelmed by the simplest things that too often become overwhelming.

Communication even before the pandemic was weak; now it’s a disaster. Too many young people are obsessed with their technology and devices. They would rather text than talk; social media is their top priority over human relationships.

Interpersonal relationships have gotten lost by the wayside. Human connections for the right reasons are things of the past. We have to work harder at helping this year’s freshman class reclaim some very basic human dynamics.

Over the last three decades, I have watched firsthand this shift in my college classroom. My college students of just a few years back were not afraid to communicate. They valued human connections and were not driven by so much anxiety and depression.

However, what has not been lost in the shuffle is their generosity of spirit; their wanting to reach out to those in need and their commitment to volunteerism. Each freshman class continues to inspire me by their hearts of compassion and commitment. In the midst of all the chaos, they genuinely do care for others. I hope they don’t lose any of that caring concern during their next four years.

They are the hope for tomorrow; may we give them all the support they need to thrive and succeed.

Father Francis Pizzarelli, SMM, LCSW-R, ACSW, DCSW, is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

A recent article that I saw on the Internet claimed that nine out of 10 graduates had regrets about their college. Wow! That’s almost unanimous discontent. Most regretted the heavy debt they had incurred. Some said the college they chose wasn’t a good fit for them. Others expressed disappointment with their major. I, too, have a regret about college; although I am not one generally to harbor regrets, I will confess that regret now.

I regret that I didn’t study harder when I was lucky enough to be in college. Now, this has nothing to do with my particular college. It is a personal failing. I am sure I would have behaved much the same way wherever I had gone to school. But here is the thing about college. It’s much the same thing as is said about computers: garbage in, garbage out.

Had I applied myself a lot harder, I would have gained a lot more in the way of a splendid education from my college courses and years. After all, I went to a fine college. Instead, I was more interested, especially during the first two years, in dating.

Not to be too hard on myself, I had a lot of catching up to do on that front. The last time I was in a co-ed situation before college was in the sixth grade of my neighborhood elementary school. For junior high and high school, I attended one of the schools in New York City requiring an entrance exam, and it was for all girls.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I loved the school. Many of the teachers had PhDs. I knew I was getting a first-rate education, and I really applied myself to my studies. What else was there to do? I even thrived on the keen competition there, despite the fact that it was considered appropriate to bemoan such a barbaric value.

It was also appropriate to wish the school were co-ed, which we all did, and fervently at the time. Now it is co-ed, and as I look back, I am not so sure that was such a good idea.

But I digress.

My college was also one of what was then regarded as the prestigious Seven Sisters and technically all women, although we certainly didn’t refer to ourselves that way at the time. We were girls, and it was an all-girls college. On the other hand, right across the main avenue that ran in front of the campus was an all-boys undergraduate college.

Needless to say, I crossed the road, both to get to the other side, (as in the old joke, “Why did the chicken cross the road”?) and also to use the library at the all-male school. That library was larger, had more comfortable seats, better lighting, and besides, I rarely returned without having at least one date, sometimes two, and even occasionally three dates for the upcoming weekend. It took the first two years to come to something approaching equilibrium.

Life was good. But for my grades, not so much.

Furthermore, I thought that I didn’t really have an appropriate major. I was pre-med. That wasn’t considered a true major, but it did require many hours of science classes that came with many hours in many labs. I could have spaced out those labs — heavy courses — but thought I should get them out of the way sooner. I did have a faculty advisor those first two years, who was a lovely person, and a famous history professor. She knew little about science requirements, confessed as much, and then signed whatever assortment of subjects I put before her to approve.

“You must pick a major,” I was told. And so I picked English because it provided me with an antidote to all those heavy science classes. Reading was a merciful escape. So was writing. I was casual about that decision, though, because I was sure I was never going to use those skills.

Who knew?

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By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Like it or not, ready or not, we will be starting August at the end of this week. That means many students and faculty will be returning to college, for those schools that are welcoming students back to campus and for however long those young learners will be allowed to remain there.

So, what should be on the shopping list?

Well, for starters, the kids will need masks and abundant quantities of hand sanitizer. Sure, colleges are promising to have some of each scattered around the facilities students will have to take turns using, but, to the extent we can find and afford it, we should include these health care items on our packing list.

They’ll probably need their own thermometers, just so they can respond, at a moment’s notice, to the question of how they are feeling and whether they’ve had any fever. In fact, they should carry the thermometer to every class.

Of course, this often isn’t sufficient in the age of COVID-19, in large part because so many people, particularly those who are our children’s age, don’t have a fever even if they are carriers and potential super-spreaders of the virus.

They’ll also need plenty of cleaning supplies because they may prefer to clean their rooms and common spaces like bathrooms themselves or because schools may be reluctant to send other people into their suite or hallway bathrooms.

We might want to add a laminated card that includes critical phone numbers and addresses. If they are far enough from home, they might need a safe place to stay in case they have to vacate campus immediately, like an antiseptic barn or a never-used cabin in the woods. They also might need to know the name and phone number of a local doctor or a doctor from home who can talk them through any medical challenges through telemedicine. Waiting at university health services, urgent care facilities, or hospitals may create undo stress and raise exposure to the virus.

Now, how many weeks or months of clothing to pack has become a matter of opinion. Some people, like my daughter, are listening to their school suggestion and are planning to pack for a total of three weeks. In that case, one or even one-and-a half suitcases may be sufficient.

Okay, what else? Well, they’ll need electronics and chargers, so they can do most of their work from their dorm room or a pre-reserved room in a library or any other space students can reserve that is cleaned in between study sessions.

Given that the gym, where they might go to run or lift weights, is likely on restricted hours or is only available for school athletes, they might also want to bring a few light weights, just to get some exercise in the room.

Even though they may only be there for three weeks, they’ll need plenty of air freshener and bug spray. If these students and their roommates spend most if not all of their time in their rooms, they may eat most, if not all, of their meals in this small space. Unless they take regular, exercise-inducing trips to remove their trash, the leftovers will likely start to smell within a few days, particularly in hotter rooms that don’t have air conditioners.

These students will also need cameras and plenty of memory in their electronic devices. If they only get three weeks or less of time on campus, they’re probably going to want to document as much as possible of their campus life, before they do all of their learning remotely.

Oh, and they might need a few notebooks, pencils and pens. Then again, if they do everything online, those antiquated items might be unnecessary in a year of unknowns.