The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

HAULING OUR DEGREES TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINES: GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE NO LONGER HOLDS PROMISE OF EMPLOYMENT

MELANIE SLOCUM
PRIDE STAFF WRITER

The percent of unemployed college graduates in the United States under the age of 25 is 11.2 percent, the percent of unemployed graduate school graduates is even higher (New York Times). Why are we flinging ourselves into lava pits? Well, it’s not a leap; it’s a fall down a tunnel. What other options do we have as we exit high school? We are conditioned from our youth to believe in the importance of going to college. But, now that I’m weeks from graduation, I have but one question: Now what?

In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama remarked that nearly half of the new jobs in the next 10 years will require a college degree (Whitehouse. gov). And we’ve all been told before that the best thing to do in an economic recession is to attend school so that when the economy “bounces back” we’ll get some magical highpaying job. But what about us in-betweeners? What are we supposed to do for the next 9 years? I’d like to enjoy my 20s, not eat ramen noodles until I’m over 30.

Not only do more than 11 percent of college students graduate unemployed, but they do so with excessive debt. Our parents and teachers indoctrinated us to believe that getting a Bachelor’s degree is an investment in our future, so 53 percent of full-time students take out loans (National Center for Education Statistics). But what happens when that future holds no promise? We have invested into a lie.

Not only do unemployed-tobe students already graduate with massive debt, but state governments are making it increasingly more difficult for students to afford a public education. In 2011 alone, the cost of tuition for a CSU undergraduate rose an additional 10 percent (calstate. edu), making the amount of debt students graduate with even higher, while creating an inverse relationship with the success in finding a job after we graduate.

What’s even worse is that nobody cares; at least, not enough do. Why aren’t more students angered by this? The economy is something we have little control over, but our voices are something we do. While there have been significant efforts to raise awareness and protest tuition increases on this campus, the amount of student turnout at these events is negligible, and embarrassing. This issue affects all of us students, yet nobody can seem to envision anything beyond final exams. Wake up CSUSM.

As I leave this university, I’ve been slapped in the face with a bleak reality beyond the utopia of undergraduate education. Know that doom’s day is coming, and know that as students, you can change this, and should. Of all environments to speak your mind in, college is probably the most accommodating you will experience. Speak up for your education, speak up for yourself. Take advantage of your own voice, stop expecting others to do it for you, and know that if you don’t, your investment into a lie will.

Photo courtesy of Melanie Slocum

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