For Our Future

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2006-09-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

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Educational Earmarks

2006-09-14T12:32:00.000-04:00

Progressives have rightly criticized congressional Republicans for wasting taxpayer money on pork barrel projects such as the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.” However, attacks on government spending could have troubling implications for colleges and universities across the country. Democrats should make sure that any legislative reforms do not result in less money for higher education.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) has written a letter to over a hundred colleges and universities to inquire about how they received federal funds. Coburn has criticized educational institutions for employing high-powered lobbyists to secure government dollars. While the process might be corrupt, Coburn misses the real issue. The actual problem is that colleges and universities do not receive enough funding from the federal government.

Since Congress refused to fully fund higher education, it is no wonder that colleges and universities are forced to hire political professionals. Business has perfected the lobbying culture—what is wrong with educational institutions get in on the act? Unless Congress provides full funding for education, colleges and universities will be forced to abuse a sometimes corrupt process.

Parents Use Facebook to Spy on Their Children

2006-09-14T09:10:00.000-04:00

Facebook is an extremely popular website that allows college students to share personal information with their fellow students. Millions of young people have created detailed profiles that describe everything from favorite music to sexual preference. A story in today's New York Times highlights some of the concerns about privacy that are raised by websites like Facebook.

According to the article, many parents are using Facebook to spy on their children's social lives. Adults are also using social networking websites to learn about their child's friends. Colleges and universities were overwhelmed this year by the number of parents who called and requested a roommate change based on something they saw on Facebook.

Never before has so much personal information been readily available for strangers. Young people should certainly be held responsible for the content of their profiles, but some college students may be too immature to fully understand what type of information should be kept private. Students need to seriously reconsider how much information they provide about themselves to protect personal privacy.

By the way, you can join the "For Our Future" Facebook group by clicking here.

UPDATE: Ezra Klein, one of my favorite writers from the American Prospect, has written a great article on this subject over at Campus Porgress.

Brigham Young Suspends Professor for 9/11 Theories

2006-09-13T13:18:00.000-04:00

Professor Steven Jones from Brigham Young University was recently suspended with pay for publicly supporting conspiracy theories that imply the U.S. government was responsible for September 11^th. He is part of a loose network of academics called “Scholars for 9/11 Truth” that has released a series of reports criticizing the official government account of the attacks. Jones suspension raises some interesting questions about how institutions of higher education should deal with professors who hold controversial views.

Professor Jones believes that explosives, not planes, brought down the World Trade Center. Frankly, the conspiracy theories advocated by Jones are absurd. Publications such as Popular Mechanics have thoroughly debunked these myths. Still, Jones has the right to express unpopular viewpoints.

According to officials from Brigham Young, the issue isn’t freedom of speech—it’s a question of scholarship. Many professors have criticized Jones for having sloppy methodology and making unsupported claims. University administrators have suspended him on the grounds that he is not meeting the high academic standards set by Brigham Young.

If a professor fails to meet high standards, universities have a right to suspend that individual. Some might argue that James is being singled out because of his views. That may be true. Still, someone taking extremely controversial positions should be smart enough to aviod cutting corners while doing research. It appears that Brigham Young made the correct decision.

The Global Decline of Academic Freedom

2006-09-12T20:12:00.000-04:00

While conservatives moan about the liberal bias on college campuses, educators in Russia are facing a major reduction in academic freedom. Conservatives should be less concerned about political bias on American campuses and worry about the worldwide decline of cherished educational liberties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has consolidated state control over the public university system and now appoints the major administrative officials. The Russian president has been roundly criticized for repeatedly encroaching on democratic freedoms. This move is just the latest in a campaign to increase the power of his government.

Unfortunately, the current administration has not taken a strong stand against Putin’s anti-democratic initiatives. President Bush has actually praised Putin and declared that he “was able to get a sense of his soul” during a brief meeting with the Russian leader. Bush has gently prodded Putin on human rights issues, but has never publicly brought up academic freedom.

Russia isn’t the only country that has seen reductions in the freedoms enjoyed by educators. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's has declared war on liberal professors and is urging radical student activists to purge the universities. Although the stated policy of the U.S. is to promote democracy in Iran, the actual results have yielded a decline in liberty.

These are just of the examples. Conservatives love to whine about liberal bias, but there are much more serious issues in the world of academia. Around the globe, educators are having their rights taken away by oppressive governments. Currently, the Bush Administration has no organized policy to promote academic freedom. This obviously should be rethought. The free exchange of ideas is one of the most important pillars of a democratic society.

Students Can Force Change Through Their Dollars

2006-09-12T11:09:00.000-04:00

Note: My name is Adam Waxman. I'm Ben's twin brother and a senior at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. I've written a couple of different things here and there, and Ben's asked me to help out with the blog by posting occasionally. If you want to send me feedback, my email is adam.waxman@gmail.com.

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A few years ago, radical singer-songwriter David Rovics came to my campus to and did a little concert. In his set, he played a song called "Drink of the Deathsquads," which is basically a polemic assailing the Coca-Cola Company for their, how shall we say this, labor issues in Colombia.

Before he broke into song, Rovics related a little story about how he had visited another campus (I think it was Warren Wilson, but don't quote me on that) with a union activist from Colombia a few weeks before. The night after the concert, the administration at WW awoke to find all of the Coke machines on campus inoperable, their coin slots gummed up with hot glue.

Everyone at the Guilford concert got a good chuckle out of this. Where this goes, obviously, is that the next day, students on our campus awoke to find all of the Coke machines vandalized. A fair number of students were pretty upset, including some of us in the progressive community who don't view this kind of activity as politically helpful or genuinely effective. And it extends beyond just soda machines to larger issues on campus. The question becomes, how can students be sure that they are not forced to support companies whose business practices they find morally questionable?

Thankfully, students across the country (and indeed the world) are using a new way to ensure that their dollars go to support companies that provide decent working conditions, respect the environment, and provide quality products. Students from the University of Michigian to Rutgers in New Jersey have begun to adopt resolutions encouraging the boycott of Coke products.

These kinds of resolutions could have a tremendous effect on the way companies do business - my own small Guilford College, for example, leverages about $85 million in buying power each year. Larger universities with strict rules about ethical purchasing can really force companies to take notice.

Probably the best example of this kind of buying power can be seen in the Workers Rights Consortium, a nationwide network of close to 160 campuses dedicated to ensuring that school apparel is produced in humane conditions. The WRC provides research on factories worldwide to campuses who then make decisions about which suppliers to use. Already, the WRC has helped leverage billions of dollars across on industry to force a betterment of working conditions.

The WRC represents a good model for other important products that carry an ethical dimension. Progressive students, faculty, and staff at schools across the country can develop ethical guidelines for purchasing that can have a real impact on the social conscience of companies eager to do business.

Harvard Drops Early Admissions

2006-09-12T11:04:00.000-04:00

Harvard University shocked the world of college admissions by announcing they plan to ban early applications. Currently, many colleges and universities allow students to apply in the fall of their senior year. Administrators at Harvard have rightly concluded that early admissions puts low-income and minority applicants at a disadvantage. Hopefully this decision will spark other reforms in the college admissions.

Early admissions are problematic because they favor students who can prepare an application throughout their junior year of high school. Young people from affluent backgrounds can afford to hire expensive admissions consultants who help navigate through the application process. In contrast, less wealthy students only have help from their parents and maybe a sympathetic guidance counselor.

Harvard specifically cited the barriers experienced by working-class students as the primary motivation for dropping early application. It is gratifying to see such an elite institution motivated by these types of concerns. Other colleges and universities should look to Harvard as an example of how to make higher education more accessible.

Youth Values and September 11th

2006-09-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

September 11^th has had a profound impact on my generation. It was the formative event of our political lives and shapes our worldview in profound ways. We have come of age during an era of conservative dominance that has seen the basic foundation of our democracy eaten away. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing about these lost values.

Young people have grown up in an era when our rights are traded away for the promise of security. We have been told that only the guilty need to worry and everyone else will be fine. Youth are encouraged to only think about our own personal safety and ignore the collective rights that are protected by the Constitution. Unfortunately, this approach to security has placed some of our most cherished principles on the chopping block.

The first principle is the search for knowledge. Young people have always been intimately involved with academics and intellectual development. Since September 11^th, conservatives have sought to control the content in the classroom to conform to their world view. They have targeted professors and academic disciplines that are critical of U.S. foreign policy. The right has also attacked study abroad programs that focus on majority Muslim nations. Ultimately, they seek to influence the basic worldview of my generation.

Their attack on professors is best exemplified by an organization called “Students for Academic Freedom.” Founded by right-wing activist David Horowitz, SAF encourages young people to report on unpatriotic statements made by their professors. They also pressure state legislatures to pass something called “The Student Bill of Rights.” Their proposals would penalize colleges and universities that don’t hire enough conservatives.

Conservatives has also tried to change the focus of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies programs. They attack programs that are insufficiently pro-American and label any effort to understand the motives of Islamic extremism as borderline treason. Organizations like Campus Watch have made a cottage industry out of attacking Middle Eastern studies programs. Some universities have responded to the pressure and drastically overhauled their approach to controversial subjects.

These attacks on entire disciplines seek to limit the scope of knowledge accessible to my generation. Conservatives want to wrap our worldview and force their version of the truth. Students should be allowed to weigh all sides of an argument before making a decision. The right wants to limit our exploration to their approved sources. Young people need to be able to explore diverse subject to make informed decisions.

Finally, conservatives have targeted one of the best ways for students to learn about the world: study abroad programs. They have sought to limit the number of students from Arab and Muslim countries by enforcing rigid quotas. While they claim this is for security reasons, there is undeniably a jingoistic tinge to these efforts. Conservatives have also tried to discourage American students from learning Arabic or studying in Muslim majority countries. They want my generation to wage a war against radical Islam, but don’t want us to understand the enemy.

The quest for knowledge is a vital part of being young. Conservatives have sought to limit the scope of our inquiry to shape my generation's worldview to their liking. Instead of promoting conformity and obedience, academics should teach students how to think critically and question authority. Young people must be equipped with these skills to be informed citizens in a democratic society.

Former Iranian President at Harvard

2006-09-11T14:05:00.000-04:00

Mohammed Khatami, the former president of Iran, spoke at Harvard yesterday. His appearance generated a great deal of controversy among students, faculty, and the general public. Many people, including the Republican governor of Massachusetts, called Khatmi a terrorist and demanded that the speech be cancelled. Thankfully, officials at Harvard did not bow to public pressure and the principals of academic freedom were protected.

Khatami has generated controversy because of Iran’s ties to militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Conservatives have criticized the Bush Administration for giving him a visa and some have even called for Khatami to be arrested upon his arrival to the United States. The right-wing seems to believe that allowing any forum for alternative viewpoints is tantamount to treason.

This is ludicrous. Young people need to hear unorthodox perspectives to contextualize the major foreign policy challenges faced by our country. Since September 11^th, the United States has become increasingly involved in the Middle East. Despite neoconservative fantasies, Iran is going to play a major role in the region. Khatami’s ideas might be reactionary, but they represent the beliefs of millions of people.

Inviting Khatami to speak does not equal the endorsement of those views. Allowing different perspective is an essential part of any academic institution. The free exchange of ideas is one of the most important components of an open society. Students should be exposed to a wide variety of opinions in order to understand the world in which we live.

After all, students have to understand the issues before they can make decisions about their own beliefs. Khatami’s views might be reprehensive, but allowing him to speak is actually helpful to the struggle against religious extremism. His speech has allowed a public response that defends secular and pluralistic values. Our vision of an open society is vastly superior to a theocratic state like Iran. Comparing the two side by side is an excellent way to show students the superiority of democracy.

Conservatives almost seem afraid of Khatami’s ideas. Frankly, the entire effort to silence Khatami has no place in a democratic society. Censorship is something done by authoritarian governments, not the United States. Perhaps conservatives are uncomfortable with Khatami’s ideas because the two philosophies have some striking similarities.

Students must have access to a variety of ideas to fully participate in critical discussions about the future of our nation. This does not only apply to young people. The general public needs to hear from people like Khatami in order to make informed decisions about politics and policy. Colleges and universities are uniquely structured to provide a civic space for dialogue. Khatami’s speech and the ensuing backlash is a great example of the discussion that can be generated by controversial speakers.

These dialogues are good for students and good for general public. Academic institutions are not only for the people attending and teaching classes. Millions of public dollars are pumped into universities and colleges—they should be tools of engagement for the democratic process. Khatami’s speech at Harvard is an affirmation of the importance of higher education in our society.

Data Skewed to Promote National Student Database

2006-09-09T18:37:00.000-04:00

An article from Inside Higher Ed provides a glimpse at the tactics being used by the Department of Education to push a national student database. According to the article, the Commission on the Future of Higher Education has been using data from the National Center on Public Policy and Higher Education for its upcoming report. The center has long been an advocate for increased tracking of student performance. Patrick M. Callan, president of the center, has been advising the Bush Administration on education policy.

The Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which Callan has advised, has made a priority of pushing colleges to identify and to start using ways to measure learning. While there was much talk during the commission’s deliberations of having some test, the panel did not recommend that any single measure, but called on colleges to have easily understood, consumer-oriented tools that would allow prospective students and their families, as well as the government, figure out what happens during the years of an undergraduate education. Supporters of this push talked about the need for standards and accountability, while critics — especially amid discussion of possible national tests — cautioned against trying to measure all colleges in the same way.

If you read the whole article and explore the Center on Public Policy and Higher Education website, it because clear that one of their central arguments is that most testing should take place. The Department of Education seems to be basing their entire report on data from the center. If the data says that more testing is needed, then the necessity of a national student database is a forgone conclusion.

In my mind, this is strangely similar to the intelligence gathering that occurred before the invasion of Iraq. Bush administration officials cherry picked the information they wanted and ignored anything that countered their worldview. It appears that this approach to public policy is still alive and well at the Department of Education.

Some Colleges Adapting to Student Needs

2006-09-08T13:58:00.000-04:00

Education is one of the best ways to reduce income inequality. Unfortunately, necessity to juggle work and school can generate a great deal of stress for working-class students. Wealthier students can devote countless hours to academics while their less privileged counterparts are forced to work menial jobs to make ends meet. Thankfully, some universities are recognizing this problem and providing special services for busy students.

One such program provides students with a personal coach:

Long reserved for pro athletes and corporate executives, personal coaches are now being offered by some colleges to help students set goals and manage time.
It sounds like the kind of college concierge service one would expect to find at exclusive, upper-crust schools. But in fact, the 15 or so schools that have hired a coaching company called InsideTrack don’t fit that description at all. Several _ including a number of for-profits _ cater to older students trying to balance the demands of work, school and family. Others serve traditional-age college students who may need help making the transition from high school.

Of course, coaching programs aren’t the only thing necessary to help more college more manageable. Schools should consider issuing scholarships that help pay for living expenses as well as tuition. Working-class students who are forced to work several jobs just to keep their head above water deserve more support.

Dept. of Education to Track Middle School Students

2006-09-08T13:09:00.000-04:00

Department of Education unveiled a new database today that will monitor the academic performance of students in grade three through eight. While federal officials claim that the database will help improve education policy, troubling questions remain about student privacy and the overall effectiveness of such a program.

The database is designed to track everything from test scores in targeted subject areas to high school dropout rates. Students will begin having data collected about almost every minute detail. Educators and elected official will then analyze the data and make recommendations about how to improve public schools.

One feature of the database tracks how students are performing in specific subjects and then allows teachers to appropriately change the curriculum. Unfortunately, this data will be relatively useless unless it is correlated with other information about students. Policy makers need to under the social and economic context of their student’s performance. Low test scores almost always correlate with students from low-income families. The proposed database would fail to take this vital information into account.

Another problem with the proposed database is privacy. Although government officials claim that the information will be safe, every system is always at-risk to hackers. In fact, a recent news item about a San Diego man who was convicted of breaking into computer system of the University of Southern California underscores the threat that centralized databases pose to student privacy.

This database is most likely a precursor to the Department of Education’s proposal for a national tracking system for college and university students. The problems associated with a national database for middle school students is only magnified when applied to a college-oriented program. Skeptics of the Department of Education’s proposal should keep an eye on this pilot program.

September 11th, Students and the Politics of History

2006-09-08T01:02:00.000-04:00

Public outcry might not compel ABC to cancel their controversial mini-series “Path to 9/11”, but progressives have already won an important victory. Scholastic Incorporated, one of the largest suppliers of textbooks and other educational materials, has been forced to withdraw their biased study guild that was slated to accompany the film.

“Path to 9/11” has generated controversy because it primarily blames the Clinton administration for failing to capture Osama Bin Laden. It also makes bogus connections between the attacks of September 11^th and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Scholastic produced a study guild for students that repeated many of the same falsehoods. This blatant attempt to brainwash the next generation shows that conservatives will do anything to propagate their narrative about that fateful day in September.

For many youth, the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center was a formative political event. It was the first major challenge faced by a generation raised in relative peace and prosperity. For many, it was a wakeup call that there was an entire world beyond our borders. September 11^th jolted us from our collective slumber and helped forge a renewed sense of national identity.

Conservatives have long sought to exploit the attacks and blame liberals. Young people must remember the truth. We offered to help our country in this time of crisis and President Bush told us to go shopping. We yearned to understand the rest of the world and our government declared millions of people to be evil. We watched in horror as our country invaded a sovereign nation that had no connections to the attack and the world grew more dangerous.

For young people, September 11^th and the ensuing response was a lesson about ideological extremism, incompetence, and the limits of conservative governance.

Now, the right-wing wants to re-write history. They want young people to believe that the Clinton administration should be blamed for the September 11^th attacks. They want students to think that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. They want the history books to record their narrative and shape the minds of generations to come.

Thankfully, progressives rose to the challenge in this round. Bombarded by thousands of e-mails and phone calls, Scholastic had no choice but to withdraw their biased study guild. Thousands of youth will be spared from being force fed right-wing propaganda. Of course, this will not be the last attempt by conservatives to influence the politics of history.

Progressives must stay vigilant against right-wing attempts to influence school curriculum. Although they might claim to oppose the mechanism of big government, conservatives will gladly use public schools as a tool of indoctrination. There will undoubtedly be future attempts to re-write history according to the right-wing talking points.

The politics of September 11th will be with us for a long time. We cannot allow conservatives to shape the historical narrative of this crucial event. Young people and their progressive allies have a special responsiblity to stay watchful of any efforts to replace academics with misinfromation.

Scholastic Drops "Path to 9/11" Propaganda

2006-09-07T19:42:00.000-04:00

If you've been reading the progressive blogosphere, you've probably heard about ABC's upcoming mini-series "The Path to 9/11." Democrats are outraged because the film apparently blames the Clinton administration for not being tough enough on terrorism. The film appears to be a piece of propaganda aimed at fostering the conservative narrative about September 11th. Republicans claim that Clinton was distracted by sex scandals and unable to focus on terrorism. There has been a lot of material generated to refute this charge, so I'll focus my attention elsewhere.

Scholastic Incorporated, one of the largest companies producing educational material for K-12, released a study guild that propagated many of the myths surrounding 9/11 and Iraq. Bloggers and other concerned citizens have successfully pressured Scholastic to back away from some of the more controversial claims in the study guild.

It's not surprising that Republicans and their corporate allies would seek to infuse educational materials with partisan politics. The first major political event that was experienced by most young people was September 11th. It's was a very formative experience for many students and if Republicans can rewrite history it can have a huge impact.

More Lies about Iraq

2006-09-06T19:21:00.000-04:00

I don't have a lot to add, but pushing falsehoods about 9/11 and Iraq in scholastic materials seems pretty low.

When Students Commit Suicide

2006-09-06T15:00:00.000-04:00

College is an incredibly stressful environment. Sadly, many young people are unable to handle the pressure. Some breakdown, some withdraw and a small number tragically kill themselves. Unfortunately, both educators and parents are approaching the problem in the wrong way. The only way to prevent student suicide is to dramatically change the culture of higher education.

Whenever a student takes their own life, there is an intense debate about the liability of a college or university. Many parents argue that faculty and staff should be held accountable for being negligent. Colleges and universities contend that strict privacy laws stymie aggressive responses to students in crisis. Two high profile lawsuits have resulted in verdicts that favor institutions of higher education. While many universities have pledged to hire more counseling staff, the real solution can be found in the classroom.

Many students are rightly dismayed about the ultra-competitive environment in academia. By forcing students to constantly stress about grades and post-graduation plans, colleges contribute to the angst of students. The cutthroat environment within many universities can have a devastating impact on the psyche. Colleges and universities should seek to encourage a more collaborative approach to education. Students shouldn’t be forced to constantly compete. Instead, why not design programs that foster cooperation?

In addition to the stress of classes, many students are struggling with the financial burden of college. Tuition prices continue to skyrocket and other expenses force students to constantly worry about the bottom line. Many young people find it necessary to get multiple low-wage jobs to make ends meet. The combination of constantly worrying about money and classes is a major source of stress for students. Colleges should work to make education more affordable. Lowering the cost of college will significantly lower student anxiety.

Parents and educators should also blame our current political leadership for the problem of student suicide. President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress have threatened to cut all federal funding from a suicide-prevention hotline that has fielded over 2 million calls. According to 1-800-HOPELINE, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 18-24. It is simply outrageous that the federal government is threatening to cut off funding for this vital program.

In addition to cutting off funding, the Bush Administration has also tried to inject politics into the work of the hotline. Religious conservatives have worked to eliminate any counseling that specifically deals with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered issues. Republicans are playing politics with the lives of teenagers in crises. Straight or gay, all young people deserve support from their government during troubling times. It is contemptible to willfully target a group of people who are at risk.

The tragedy of student suicide always brings out strong emotions. It is understandable that grief-stricken parents search for someone to blame. However, neither parents nor educators should simply focus on the crises right before a young person takes their own life. Instead, they should consider the environmental factors that can lead to depression and anxiety. Unless the culture of college is changed, there will always be a problem with student suicide.

Bringing Back the Draft

2006-09-06T12:32:00.000-04:00

Congressman Jack Murtha, who is a fierce critic of the Bush Administration’s Iraq policy, has repeatedly floated the idea of reinstating a military draft. Murtha argues that the military has been depleted by the ongoing occupation and is in desperate need of new blood. Recruitment numbers have been down for the past few years. Although I am sure that many progressives will disagree with me, I believe that a reintroduction of the draft would be good for America.

The military is currently an all-volunteer force. As a result, the armed forces are disproportionably composed of working-class and poor people. African-Americans and Latino’s compose a high percentage of frontline troops. Quite simply, the military does not reflect the demographics of our nation. This is troubling for several reasons.

First, there is a moral question. The burden of war should not only be shouldered by the lower classes. It should be shared by people from all backgrounds. A military draft would require all youth to perform some kind of national service and reduce the inherent inequality created by an all-volunteer military.

Second, a draft would help make citizens feel the impact of foreign policy. It’s easy to ignore the Bush Administration’s blunders in Iraq if you’re not going to be anywhere close to a battlefield. A reinstatement of the draft would force issues of war and peace into the heart of our political debate. Universal military service would ultimately be a tool to enhance our democracy.

The reinstatement of the draft will be controversial, especially among youth. Still, I strongly support any move to require military service. Although it is unlikely, a military draft could be the right thing for America.

Iranian President Attacks Liberal Professors

2006-09-05T20:58:00.000-04:00

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's hardline president, has issues a scathing attack on liberal and secular professors in the Iranian educational system. Ahmadinejad is trying to mobilize a small but fiercely conservative group of student activists. Although the speech has received a large amount of media coverage, it appears to be little more than a rhetorical flourish. If Ahmadinejad really wanted to target liberal educators, he could have done something more substantial.

Of course, Ahmadinejad's speech has generated the usual chorus of conservative voices calling for a more bellicose foreign policy towards Iran. Since Ahmadinejad's speech was mostly a reflection of internal Iranian politics, progressives shouldn't be particularly concerned about liberal educators in Iran. I suspect they will be fine. An Iranian blogger from Mideast Youth points out the obvious:

"I don'’t understand why the EU and America were stupid enough to threaten the regime with exactly what it wants: to be isolated and left alone. They should have threatened the regime with engagement. They should have threatened more embassy and consulate openings, increased tourism, Hollywood movies flooding into the country, and MacDonaldÃ’s. That would have scared the regime."

Conservatives are obsessed with the idea that military power can solve every foreign policy challenge. Iran has a huge population of young people who could be won over with ideas instead of bombs and bullets. Military action is likely to further radicalize the general population. In contrast, constructive engagement might help both sides avoid a clash of civilizations.

How Unions Can Attract Youth

2006-09-04T19:47:00.000-04:00

According to a story in today’s New York Times, young workers are facing the toughest job market in years. Youth are faced with an inflated real estate market, spiraling healthcare costs, and crippling student debt. Job security is at an all-time low and real wages have been stagnated for years. Young workers are facing a time of extreme economic transition. The current climate of economic insecurity could provide an excellent opening for labor unions to attract young people if they adapt the correct approach.

First, unions should vigorously support efforts to increase the affordability of higher education. Over half of all students borrow money to finance their college career. Professor Cecilia Rouse estimates average debt of recent graduates to be roughly $19,000. Unions should push for debt forgiveness and other mechanisms to reduce this burden. This could also include an increase in Pell grants and other need based scholarships. Unions should make this campaign visible on every major college campus. Students need to become shown that the labor movement fights for average Americans—including them.

Another essential component is an increase in the minimum wage. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor show that about half of all hourly-paid workers making $5.15 are under the age of 25. An increase in the minimum wage would put more money into the pockets of young workers than almost any other public policy proposal. Labor unions should make raising the minimum wage a major priority and work to engage young people in the movement.

Labor can also help young workers by supporting the construction of affordable housing. This is a win-win, because it can create union jobs and helps cash-strapped youth at the same time. Innovative organizations like New York City Apollo Project are experimenting with building environmentally friendly affordable housing using union labor. Fighting for affordable housing will further endear young workers to labor unions and create allies for future struggles.

Unions should also support any legislation that would increase the job security of young workers. Too many young people can be fired by their employers for no reason at all. Entry-level jobs are often designed to overwork employees until they burn out. Public efforts to help new workers will help make young people more sympathetic when unions decide to embark on new organizing campaigns.

Finally, unions should fight for healthcare to cover recent graduates and other young workers. Many young people lose their healthcare when they graduate and are one major injury away from bankruptcy. According to one study, entry-level jobs have increasingly been offered without healthcare coverage. By taking a leading role in the fight for affordable healthcare, unions will show young workers that collective action can reap benefits for the common good.

All of these issues are could be turned into public campaigns led by unions. We might not win every fight, but the labor movement will win some invaluable allies by simply suiting up for the struggle. In addition to winning broad support among young people, these campaigns could be excellent training groups for future organizers. Ultimately, the labor movement will only be revitalized if bread and butter economic issues become politicized. The current crisis facing young workers provides an excellent opportunity for labor movement, if they’re smart enough to capitalize on it.

Rethinking College Rankings

2006-09-04T15:59:00.000-04:00

U.S. News and World Report has been generating college rankings for over 20 years. Many have criticized the rankings as both superficial and tilted towards elite institutions. Conservatives have produced rival college guilds designed to help students avoid liberal professors. There has not been a progressive alternative until now.

“And so, to put The Washington Monthly College Rankings together, we started with a different assumption about what constitutes the "best" schools. We asked ourselves: What are reasonable indicators of how much a school is benefiting the country? We came up with three: how well it performs as an engine of social mobility (ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very, very rich), how well it does in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and how well it promotes an ethic of service to country. We then devised a way to measure and quantify these criteria (See "A Note on Methodology"). Finally, we placed the schools into rankings. Rankings, we admit, are never perfect, but they're also indispensable.

By devising a set of criteria different from those of other college guides, we arrived at sharply different results. Top schools sank, and medium schools rose. For instance, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 48th on the U.S News list, takes third place on our list, while Princeton, first on the U.S. News list, takes 43rd on ours. In short, Pennsylvania State, measured on our terms -- by the yardstick of fostering research, national service and social mobility -- does a lot more for the country than Princeton.”

I haven’t read the entire study, but it looks very promising. Their definition of the best schools makes a lot of sense to me. By gauging the total benefit for the country, this list seems to value education as a tool for building a functioning society rather than a simple mechanism to get rich.

Students and the Labor Movement

2006-09-04T15:32:00.000-04:00

Today is labor day. I want to take a moment to highlight an essay I wrote a few months ago about how labor unions can attract young people. Here are the key paragraphs:

While these programs are excellent, training young people to be organizers isn’t enough. It’s hard to fill organizing schools if students and youth aren’t even interested in the labor movement in the first place – organized labor needs to make itself relevant to us. To reach out to the next generation, organized labor needs to make a concentrated effort to become involved in movements led by young people.
This includes initiatives led by groups like United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) and living wage campaigns. Besides the reaching out to young people, these campaigns are obviously in the self-interest of labor unions. The Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), as a joint effort between Jobs with Justice and the United States Student Association, is an important attempt to build alliances between young people and the labor movement. These campaigns in support of workers rights are often an important educational experience for progressive student activists.
But if labor wants ongoing support from young people, it must in return provide support for student struggles. Several unions in the education industry take an active role in campaigns for fully funded public schools and higher education, but many sectors of the labor movements are absent from these fights. Sadly, when students assemble a list of possible allies for these campaigns, unions are often left out. The labor movement can correct this oversight by actively reaching out to students fighting for quality education. By showing support for a broader social justice agenda, unions can develop a pool of potential organizers and activists.
Moreover, supporting broader educational justice campaigns tends to involve larger segments of the student population than campaigns like sweatshop labor. While groups like USAS and SLAP are almost exclusively composed of left-leaning students, campaigns centered on education engage less partisan young people as well. While these individuals might be less likely to become organizers, receiving support from the labor movement might favorably alter their disposition towards unions in the future. Young people have to be conditioned not just to want to work for the labor movement, but to join unions as well.
And this is the biggest hole in the AFL-CIO’s current strategy to reach out to young people. Too much effort is spent on idealistic activists and not enough on making regular students more sympathetic to unions. Young people must be conditioned to become pro-union. When campus workers go on strike, students need to know why honoring picket lines is important. College students are often tempted to be scabs during labor disputes. If more young people become pro-union, the labor movement would be strengthened during campaigns that rely on community support to succeed.

How Students Can Combat Terrorism

2006-09-04T14:25:00.000-04:00

The upcoming anniversary of September 11^th has thrust discussions of terrorism and homeland security into the center of public debate. As I already reported, the Department of Education and the FBI have been combing student records for terrorist suspects. By focusing almost exclusively on law enforcement and military operations, the Bush Administration has failed to think creatively about preventing future attacks. Students and youth could be an important resource for combating terrorism if utilized in the correct manner.

As shown by the rise in support for Hezbollah in the wake of Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon, Islamic extremism cannot be extinguished by bombs and bullets. In order to be successful, the war on terrorism needs to be primarily a battle of ideas. Right now, young people from across the Muslim world view the United States as a violent empire intent on conquering the world. These potential recruits for Al Qaeda need to be convinced that America can be a force for good. Young people are most responsive to other young people. The United States can combat terrorism by encouraging relationships between Muslim and Western youth.

Instead of scanning millions of student records for a few names, the federal government should be working to expand study abroad programs. These intensive cultural exchanges promote tolerance and understanding among people from across the globe. The lessons learned from study abroad experiences are a partial antidote to the over hyped “Clash of Civilizations.” The threat of terrorism can only be reduced by building trust between people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Sadly, conservatives have attacked study abroad programs that focus on Muslim countries. In their mind, any interest in understanding Islamic culture is a capitulation to terrorists. This logic also extends to academic programs that are deemed to be too “sympathetic” towards Muslim viewpoints. Any suggestion that U.S. foreign policy might be somehow responsible for the rise in Islamic extremism is practically seen as treason.

Bellicose rhetoric on both sides has undermined the potential for understanding between young people from different cultures. Ultimately, mutual respect will be the foundation for long-term peace and security. Young people can be an amazing resource in this struggle of ideas. By focusing solely on military and law enforcement, the Bush Administration has missed an important resource in the fight against extremism.

Throw the Book at Them

2006-09-03T19:04:00.000-04:00

Campus Progress has published a new version of my essay on textbooks. You can read it here.

More on National Student Database

2006-09-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

There is a lengthy article in September’s issue of The Washington Monthly about the new national educational database proposed by the Department of Education. It’s written by Kevin Carey, who is a research and policy manager at Education Sector. Carey is a strong supporter of the database and believes it will help parents, students, and policymakers accurately judge the effectiveness of institutions of higher education. I think several of his arguments make problematic assumptions about the very nature and purpose of education. He also shows a very startling naiveté about the ability of Congress to protect student privacy.

Carey argues that achievement could be measured by a standardized test aimed at evaluating the ability of college students to engage in “higher-order critical thinking, analysis, and communication skills.” He specifically cites a test developed by a group of high-profile educators called the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The NSSE was designed to be an alternative the U.S. News and World Report rankings and is already being used by many colleges and universities.

The problem with a national standardized test is that there is such a wide range of educational institutions in the United States. A student from a small liberal arts college is getting an extremely different education than someone who goes to a large research university. In addition, it’s nearly impossible to quantitatively measure what students should be getting out of a college experience. High schools are all supposed to emphasize certain subject areas like math, social studies, and science. Colleges are very different from high school and national standardized test would impose an orthodoxy that simply does not exist.

It is also troubling to assume that colleges and universities should all be producing the same kind of experience for students. Carey and other supporters of the test seem to see education as a tool for students to increase their future earnings. They want college education to be an experience that teaches young people to model employees. Education should be about way more than the bottom line. In a democratic society, college education should prepare youth to be active participants in civic society and encourage intellectual curiosity. Can that really be measured by a national test?

There is also the question of student privacy. Casey dismisses this argument by claiming that any national test could be regulated by strict regulation designed to protect the rights of students. That might be a reasonable argument if the White House and Congress were populated by politicians who have respect for the rule of law. However, President Bush has already made clear that he will disregard any laws that he deems unconstitutional. If Congress included privacy provisions in a national student database, officials in the Bush Administration would undoubtedly ignore those provisions under the guise of Homeland Security. The recent revelations about FBI use of normally private student records should also be pause for concern.

The Mystery of MySpace

2006-09-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

From Eschaton:

"I admit MySpace's popularity mystifies me somewhat as they're all pretty much the shittiest websites on the internets, except maybe for this one. But they did enough right that wasn't offered elsewhere and managed to succeed."

MySpace is now the most popular website on the internet and a major tool for social communication for people under 25. I think the main lesson from MySpace is that people care most about other people. As Atrios noted, most of the websites generated by MySpace are incredibly awful. Still, millions of users spend untold hours on these sites. The driving force is human connection. People look at lousy websites because they belong to their friends. I'd rather read a crappy website about someone I know than some slick production about hair gel.

There are some good lessons for political organizers in the success of MySpace. Nothing is more important than trust. People trust other people in their social networks. The only way to reach people who aren't political junkies is through thier friends. Online communities are as important as offline communities and can be an incredible tool for mobilization.

Student Records Targeted by the FBI

2006-09-01T13:45:00.000-04:00

A journalism student at Northwestern University has uncovered a previously unknown effort that used student loan records to track potential terrorists. Known as “Project Strike Back”, the program was a joint effort between the Department of Education and FBI. Launched in the days after the September 11^th attack, Project Strike Back allowed federal authorities to have access to thousands of student records. The program has allegedly been discontinued, but many questions remain about student rights during wartime.

According to the FBI, terrorists often obtain student status to defraud financial-aid and visa programs. The FBI provided the Department of Education with several hundred names and requested access to financial records. Officials at both the Department of Education and the FBI maintain that the program is constitutional and does not violate the privacy rights of students.

Even if this is technically true, the idea that student loan data can be used by any agency is extremely problematic. Information about student loans and other financial aid information are extremely personal. It also seems possible that the FBI might use these records to target campus activists who criticize the Bush Administration. There are numerous documented instances of the FBI questioning student anti-war activists.

If that wasn’t unnerving enough, federal officials are discussing the formation of national database that would track student academics. I’m not sure how the government knowing that I got a C- in Quantitative Methods is going to keep us safe from Al Qaeda. There is little doubt in my mind that this database will somehow find its way into the hands of future employers. Frankly, an academic database would be a gross invasion of privacy.

The academic database will be unveiled in the Department of Education’s forthcoming report, The Future of Higher Education. There aren’t a lot of details about the program available, but I plan to stay on top of this issue in the months to come.

No one is arguing that the government shouldn't be given the tools to combat terrorism. However, I am deeply concerned that the Bush Administration will use legitimate concerns about homeland security as an excuse to further invade the privacy of students.

Chinese Youth Get Plastic Surgery

2006-08-31T13:35:00.000-04:00

I plan to write a decent amount about young people who are entering the job market. American youth face a number of challenges, such as the decline of labor unions and a general unease about job security. Still, we should count ourselves lucky in some ways. According to an article in the Boston Globe, many Chinese women are undergoing plastic surgery to make themselves more attractive to future employers. It's pretty disturbing stuff.

"Parents who grew up under Mao Zedong's austere communist rule, when plastic surgery was unimagined and feminine beauty frowned upon, now encourage their kids to go under the knife with the hope that a prettier face may give them an edge.
"It's an economic age of beauty," said Liu. "A good-looking girl earns 10 percent more than others."
EverCare performed over 1,000 operations last year. Around 95 percent of the patients were women and over 20 percent were aged under 25. Like cars and mobile phones, plastic surgery is no longer considered a luxury, Liu said.
"It has become a need for ordinary people," he said."

There is something about this that makes me slightly sick. China's hyper-development seems to have spawned some of the worst manifestations of consumer capitalism. A society where young people are forced to go under the knife to get a good job is not one where I would want to live. I understand that conservatives would call these surgeries completely rational, but maybe it just shows the limitations of free markets improving the basic happiness of people in any given country.

Washington Post on SAT scores

2006-08-31T11:03:00.000-04:00

There is something very weird about today's Washington Post editorial about declining SAT scores. The paper is all worked up because the average score seems to have dropped a few points. The Post is worried this could indicate that something is wrong with the new SAT tests developed by the College Board. Here is the important paragraph:

"The scores announced yesterday for the high school class of 2006 are the first since the College Board revamped the SAT, taking out the analogies that defined the test for generations of previous students, increasing the reading portion and adding a writing exam. Reading and math scores both dropped, to an average national score of 1021 out of 1600. The annual drop in critical reading scores, from 508 to 503, was the largest in 31 years."

The editorial is really trying to make people concerned about this allegedly dramatic downswing in test scores. Leaving beside the issue if SATs are really a useful tool to measure student achievement, it's important to note that the decrease in scores is actually not very large. From Talking Points Memo:

"Sounds bad. But how dramatic was the drop? Well, reading went from 508 to 503 and math went from 520 to 518. That doesn't sound especially dramatic to me. Say you knew two families with kids applying to college. One kid gets a 1028 on his SAT and the other kid gets a 1021. Are you really going to say something dramatically different to the parents of Kid B? If Kid B's parents were all freaked out because their kid did seven points worse than Kid A, wouldn't you tell them to chill out? Certainly, I would."

It seems clear that there isn't really a crisis of low student performance. However, let's assume that there really is a problem and test scores are declining. Could it be because there is a new test and all the test prep companies haven't mastered the material? This drop in scores could simply be an indication of how more privileged students do when they don't have as much extra help. Frankly, this test might even be a better yardstick to measure students because it helps level the playing field.

That said, I still think that using standardized tests for college admissions is mostly useless. Students should be evaluated on long-term performance, community involvement, and other more tangible factors. Testing is both unfair and unhelpful measure of academic potential.

Small Colleges Are Dropping SAT

2006-08-31T09:11:00.000-04:00

Across the country, dozens of small liberal-arts colleges are dropping the SAT requirement for admissions. This trend started a few years ago and is an extremely positive development. There are a variety of reasons that I oppose standardized tests in college admissions, but I think this quote sums up the issue quite nicely:

"We hope that now that there are more test-optional schools, students will think about not taking it, and putting their time and money into other activities, like music or writing or community service, said Jane B. Brown, vice president for enrollment at Mount Holyoke, which dropped the SAT requirement in 2001. We hope they will have more interesting lives."

The testing fetish is one of the most problematic developments in recent education policy. It forces students to spend time and resources memorizing information they will not use after the test. It is also unfair because it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a student for absolutely no reason. A single test cannot serve as an accurate measure of a student's academic potential.

Studying for the test might even make students intellectually lazy:

"Some high school teachers criticize Princeton Review because its training favors stunts over skills. Today's Princeton Review class seems to exemplify this tendency. Depaoli demonstrates to an incredulous class that you needn't read all of a reading comprehension selection to answer most of the questions -- go to the questions first, she says, and they will often guide you right to the line or paragraph you need. And for "PC" authors and subjects -- and there is generally at least one of those -- the answer is unlikely to be anything that sounds negative."

Students are taught how to beat the SATs instead of building real academic skills. While this might help students get into college in the short-term, developing bad study skills will haunt students once they start taking college-level classes.

There are other reasons why standardized tests should not be used for college admissiowealthierhier students can afford expensive tutors and prep classes (which cost between $600-$1,000) while less affluent applicants are forced to study without support. In reality, the SAT isn'standardizedized measure of knowledge-- some students have access to prepatory materials and others do not. It's hardly fair to force students who can't afford study aids to compete with their more privilaged counterparts.

Colleges should select their students on the basis of long-term academic achivement and also factor in a student's potential. Some of the smartest and mcommittedtted college students are the ones who did poorly in high school and are now serious about their education. It's moronic to place some much emphasis on what is clearly a flawed way to measure scholastic apptitude.

The Textbook Racket

2006-08-30T15:30:00.000-04:00

Every college student knows about the high price of textbooks. I have five classes this semester and managed to spend almost $500 on assigned readings. These were almost all politics and history classes, which makes the figure even more amazing. Textbooks for humanities classes actually tend to be cheaper than other subject areas. For example, students studying hard sciences like biology or chemistry often have to shell out over $100 for a single text book. Unless something is done to make college books more affordable, higher education may soon be out of reach for many young people.

Why are prices so high? There are a variety of reasons. First, publishers work to restrict the used book market by constantly publishing new editions of each book. Since most professors require students to have the most recent edition of any textbook, the used copies from last year become relatively worthless. The new edition might be worthwhile if it had new material, but most of the changes are usually relatively minor and cosmetic. The textbook industry constantly pumps out new editions primarily to squash the used book market and to artificially inflate prices.

Another tactic used by the textbook industry to make books more expensive is called "bundling." Textbooks are filled with all kinds of useless bells and whistles to justify high prices. These include CD-ROMs, work books, and a variety of other add-ins that most professors rarely use. These supplements are supposed to enrich the educational experience, but they are actually serving as a way to enrich textbook companies.

The textbook industry claims that high prices are justified because text books are expensive to produce. This is true, but there is much that publishers could do to make books less expensive for consumers. The easiest thing to do would to simply allow students to download textbooks directly from a centralized website. Students could pay a flat fee for a semester and have access to all the books for their classes. This would save tremendously on both printing and distribution. By allowing access to electronic copies, publishers would be able to sell directly to technologically savvy students.

Some students need hard copies of assigned reading. Luckily, textbook publishers can make these more inexpensive as well. Some companies have already begun issuing “no frills” copies of text books. These have soft covers and use a much lighter binding system. Essentially, the textbooks look like binders with looseleaf paper. Charts and graphs are presented in medium-quality color instead of the slick look that accompanies most textbooks. These low-cost textbooks might not be flashy, but they get the job done.

Professors can help their students control textbook costs in a variety of ways. First, they can make sure that their textbooks are offered online and in a “no-frills” version. If a publisher does not offer these options, professors can threaten to take their business elsewhere. Professors should also be lenient in allowing students to use older editions to open up the used book market.

Professors and students shouldn't be the only ones fighting for affordable textbooks. Millions of students attend public colleges and universities that are financed by tax dollars. It’s time for our elected leaders to take legislative action. A good first step would be to require campus bookstores in publicly funded schools to carry books that have both electronic and “no frills” editions. This requirement would force the textbook industry to start creating low-cost options for students. After all, the student population is a huge market of consumers. In fact, several smaller publishing companies have already started to offer these types of affordable products.

Ultimately, higher education is an extremely important investment in our nation’s future. Financial barriers exist for many potential students and textbooks are part of the equation. Inflated prices have no place in the educational experience. Professors, institutions of higher education and publishing companies should work to make this aspect of college more affordable.

A Political Education

2006-08-30T14:27:00.000-04:00

Just in time for back to school, the National Review has published an attack on the academic discipline of Women's Studies. Here is a taste of the article:

Women’s studies courses are different. They tend to abandon rigorous analysis in favor of consciousness-raising exercises and self-exploration. One textbook explains that women’s studies “consciously rejects many traditional forms of inquiry, concepts, and explanatory systems; at the same time, it is developing new and sometimes unique traditions and authorities of its own.” Those “unique” traditions include providing students with “credit for social change activities or life experience, contracts of self-grading, diaries and journals, even meditation or ritual.”

Over at Campus Progress, a poster named Asheesh Siddique has written a fairly good rebuttel. Women's Studies is obviously a very serious academic subject and has produced a wide variety of scholarly research. In addition, Women's Studies positively impacts other areas of study (like Political Science) by challenging power structures and encouraging critical thinking. I was struck by this part of Asheesh's response:

Again, Luckas' article is based on some very bad assumptions about the humanities- that it is somehow Platonically isolated from the real world. No. In fact, the whole purpose of the humanities has always been to instill doubts in students about the students' own self-images and about the society they live in. That's exactly what women's studies does.

This is a fundamental difference between how conservatives and liberals approach higher education. For conservatives, students are nothing but consumers. Colleges and universities are simply providing a product and should be approached as such. Since education is a private good like any other product, it is perfectly acceptable for higher education to only be available to those who can afford it. According to conservatives, college should simply be a place where young people get skills to enter the workforce.

But education isn't simply a commodity to be bought and sold. It's an essential component of a functioning democratic society. Young people will inherit the world that our elders make. We need to be able to think critically about the challenges ahead. If education is only designed to help students make money in the future, it will be a great disservice to our nation as a whole. Women's Studies is an important part of the intellectual thought and will help prepare students to become fully participating citizens.

Introduction

2006-08-30T12:13:00.000-04:00

For the past three years, I have been blogging mostly on Young Philly Politics. I've reccently decided to start my own site and focus more on national issues from a youth perspective. This blog will cover a range of topics, such as healthcare, education policy, and the long-term impact of the war in Iraq. I am particularly interested in examining how conservative policies are endangering the future of our country.

In a few weeks, this entire site will be moved to BenWaxman.com. In addition to the blog, the site will have an archive of everything I've ever had published. I've been meaning to create something like this for a long time, but senior year is prompting me to get a little more organized.

I've set up http://benwaxman.blogspot.com as a sort of trial website. I'm going to be regularly posting the sort of content that will eventually appear on BenWaxman.com. Please offer suggestions and/or criticism about style, format, subjected matter or anything else.

Thanks so much!