To the Editor:
Re “More Aid for College Students,” by Michael R. Bloomberg (Op-Ed, Nov. 19):
I applaud Mr. Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion gift to my alma mater, Johns Hopkins. But his Op-Ed stirred mixed feelings in me. Hopkins wrote to its alumni that Mr. Bloomberg’s gift will allow it to “realize the inspiring vision of a university that is open to, and supportive of, all high-achieving students regardless of their means or backgrounds.” This is a wonderful thing.
In fact, it is a wonderful thing that is already happening at the City University of New York, where tuition is less than $7,000 per year at the four-year colleges, compared with more than $50,000 per year at Hopkins.
David Leonhardt, reporting last year on a new study of social mobility, wrote that CUNY “propelled almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all eight Ivy League campuses, plus Duke, M.I.T., Stanford and Chicago, combined.” The greatest engine of social mobility in the country is right here in New York City.
The Bloomberg gift seeks to make elite colleges accessible to underserved populations. Why are these colleges “elite”? Largely because they have money. At City College, where I work, we have incredible faculty who provide an education every bit as good as I got at Hopkins. But our classrooms and lab spaces are in need of repair and the latest technology, we lose some of our best faculty to wealthy schools that make offers with which we can’t compete and we struggle with every tiny expenditure.
Mr. Bloomberg’s gift is a wonderful thing and transformative for students at Hopkins. Imagine the lives we could transform with an investment like that into our own city’s engine of social mobility.
Tony M. Liss
New York
The writer is interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at The City College of New York.
To the Editor:
Every year, all but a handful of the most elite colleges run out of financial aid before building their classes. At Smith College, some 60 percent of our students receive scholarships, totaling more than $70 million in aid, but we are still not need-blind.
This means that despite being one of the most economically diverse, selective institutions in the country, we are unable to offer admission to all of the well-qualified, highly deserving applicants to Smith.
These students, from families with fewer economic resources, were rated highly by our admission staff even though they may have attended poorly performing high schools, did not have access to SAT prep courses, did not have paid tutors to edit their college essays, did not even dream about an overseas service learning experience during high school, and did their college tours online.
Mr. Bloomberg hopes that his substantial gift to Johns Hopkins University will inspire his fellow alumni and those of other colleges to support financial aid. Let us pray that it is so. In today’s knowledge economy, without college access there is no level playing field, there is no equity, there is no American dream.
As the first in my family to attend college, I consider myself lucky, as Mr. Bloomberg does. It could have been otherwise for both of us, as it continues to be for too many young people in our country.
Kathleen McCartney
Northampton, Mass.
The writer is president of Smith College.
To the Editor:
While Michael Bloomberg’s sentiment and generosity are wonderful, the execution is shortsighted. Not everyone needs, wants or is qualified to go to an elite university, but that doesn’t make them any less worthy of receiving a boost in life. There’s more than one path to success and a well-lived life.
This donation could have been much more effective by targeting small businesses and entrepreneurs with low-interest loans and free or subsidized financial literacy classes, or by helping working-class folks go to trade schools and get out of government housing by teaching them the skills and creating the funding to build and own their own homes.
There are so many more effective alternatives than covering the tuition to a single elite, extremely expensive institution. His worst suggestion was his request that others make similar donations, when they should be investing in their communities and encouraging entrepreneurship.
Brian Robinson
Brooklyn
The writer is the owner of a small business, a wine shop.
To the Editor:
Michael Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins to support financial aid and make need-blind admissions a reality at his alma mater is visionary and transformative. He has done what too few do nowadays: remembered whence he came and reached back to help those coming from similar and worse circumstances.
There will be time enough to talk about the limited impact of even this historic gift, time to talk about systemic inequality, privilege and broken systems. And we should have those conversations. But hey, people: Can we just take a moment here to acknowledge this extraordinary act for what it is — profound generosity from a man who is grateful for his blessings — and say, simply and clearly: Thank you, Michael Bloomberg, thank you.
Dan Baker
New York
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Bloomberg’s Gift to College Students
Opinion | Bloomberg’s Gift to College Students
To the Editor:
Re “More Aid for College Students,” by Michael R. Bloomberg (Op-Ed, Nov. 19):
I applaud Mr. Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion gift to my alma mater, Johns Hopkins. But his Op-Ed stirred mixed feelings in me. Hopkins wrote to its alumni that Mr. Bloomberg’s gift will allow it to “realize the inspiring vision of a university that is open to, and supportive of, all high-achieving students regardless of their means or backgrounds.” This is a wonderful thing.
In fact, it is a wonderful thing that is already happening at the City University of New York, where tuition is less than $7,000 per year at the four-year colleges, compared with more than $50,000 per year at Hopkins.
David Leonhardt, reporting last year on a new study of social mobility, wrote that CUNY “propelled almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all eight Ivy League campuses, plus Duke, M.I.T., Stanford and Chicago, combined.” The greatest engine of social mobility in the country is right here in New York City.
The Bloomberg gift seeks to make elite colleges accessible to underserved populations. Why are these colleges “elite”? Largely because they have money. At City College, where I work, we have incredible faculty who provide an education every bit as good as I got at Hopkins. But our classrooms and lab spaces are in need of repair and the latest technology, we lose some of our best faculty to wealthy schools that make offers with which we can’t compete and we struggle with every tiny expenditure.
Mr. Bloomberg’s gift is a wonderful thing and transformative for students at Hopkins. Imagine the lives we could transform with an investment like that into our own city’s engine of social mobility.
Tony M. Liss
New York
The writer is interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at The City College of New York.
To the Editor:
Every year, all but a handful of the most elite colleges run out of financial aid before building their classes. At Smith College, some 60 percent of our students receive scholarships, totaling more than $70 million in aid, but we are still not need-blind.
This means that despite being one of the most economically diverse, selective institutions in the country, we are unable to offer admission to all of the well-qualified, highly deserving applicants to Smith.
These students, from families with fewer economic resources, were rated highly by our admission staff even though they may have attended poorly performing high schools, did not have access to SAT prep courses, did not have paid tutors to edit their college essays, did not even dream about an overseas service learning experience during high school, and did their college tours online.
Mr. Bloomberg hopes that his substantial gift to Johns Hopkins University will inspire his fellow alumni and those of other colleges to support financial aid. Let us pray that it is so. In today’s knowledge economy, without college access there is no level playing field, there is no equity, there is no American dream.
As the first in my family to attend college, I consider myself lucky, as Mr. Bloomberg does. It could have been otherwise for both of us, as it continues to be for too many young people in our country.
Kathleen McCartney
Northampton, Mass.
The writer is president of Smith College.
To the Editor:
While Michael Bloomberg’s sentiment and generosity are wonderful, the execution is shortsighted. Not everyone needs, wants or is qualified to go to an elite university, but that doesn’t make them any less worthy of receiving a boost in life. There’s more than one path to success and a well-lived life.
This donation could have been much more effective by targeting small businesses and entrepreneurs with low-interest loans and free or subsidized financial literacy classes, or by helping working-class folks go to trade schools and get out of government housing by teaching them the skills and creating the funding to build and own their own homes.
There are so many more effective alternatives than covering the tuition to a single elite, extremely expensive institution. His worst suggestion was his request that others make similar donations, when they should be investing in their communities and encouraging entrepreneurship.
Brian Robinson
Brooklyn
The writer is the owner of a small business, a wine shop.
To the Editor:
Michael Bloomberg’s $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins to support financial aid and make need-blind admissions a reality at his alma mater is visionary and transformative. He has done what too few do nowadays: remembered whence he came and reached back to help those coming from similar and worse circumstances.
There will be time enough to talk about the limited impact of even this historic gift, time to talk about systemic inequality, privilege and broken systems. And we should have those conversations. But hey, people: Can we just take a moment here to acknowledge this extraordinary act for what it is — profound generosity from a man who is grateful for his blessings — and say, simply and clearly: Thank you, Michael Bloomberg, thank you.
Dan Baker
New York
Source: Read Full Article