Drop Out Now!

Colleges & Universities A-Z Duke University
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<p>The following is an interesting article I found in the chronicle</p>

<p>Drop out now
A modest proposal
by Mike Dickison</p>

<p>Hey, undergraduate. All you learn at college is how to drink, have sex and memorize trivia. In a few years, nobody will care which university you went to, what your grades were, or what you studied. All that knowledge you’re trying to cram into your head will have evaporated, except for random snippets that emerge on quiz night at the local bar. Your college texts will sit on your shelf, and you’ll never open them again. When you turn 30 you’ll throw them out. What a colossal waste of time and money it will seem. How bleak. So why are you here?</p>

<p>If you really want an education you can get it anywhere, even the crappiest agricultural college in the poorest state; those professors got their Ph.D.s at Yale too. Anyway, high-powered faculty at research universities like Duke can’t necessarily teach. (Perhaps you’ve noticed.) Their careers depend on doing research, getting grants, and avoiding you. So drop out.</p>

<p>You could go to a state college for less than a fifth of the cost, so why are you at Duke? It doesn’t have the social cachet of Harvard or Yale, yet is somehow still staggeringly expensive. You’re paying around $100 per lecture—do you really feel you’re getting your money’s worth? Is one Duke lecture worth five at UNC? No. You’re being ripped off. Drop out.</p>

<p>A college education is basically free in every industrialized country except America. Here, graduates wind up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt for a decade or more. Rather an expensive way to goof off for four years, isn’t it? But that psych degree’s an investment in your career, right? Nope, you’d have been financially better off getting a job fresh out of high school. Duke’s snob value doesn’t outweigh the student loan and four-year handicap, especially for you unfortunate Humanities majors. So make like Bill Gates, and drop out already.</p>

<p>Maybe, though, this is just a stepping stone to a professional qualification. But what makes you so sure you want to be a doctor? You like helping people? Get real. Most of us aren’t equipped to choose a lifelong career at age 18—usually it’s just:</p>

<p>(a) Mom and Dad would be so proud. Coincidentally, they’re doctors/lawyers too!</p>

<p>(b) Your in-depth knowledge of what the job entails comes entirely from TV.</p>

<p>(c) You want to make a lot of money. (Does this mean you’re shallow and self-centered? I’m afraid so.)</p>

<p>Don’t add to the plague of lawyers defacing the USA. Drop out now.</p>

<p>Every spring the graduating Chronicle columnists whine about how they have no idea what comes next. If they had no goal in mind, why did they come to college in the first place? The last place you’ll stumble upon your vocation is in academia, which couldn’t be more divorced from the real world. This is especially true in America, where you’re infantilized in cozy dorms by a university in loco parentis that feeds you, cleans up after you—practically does your laundry. How are you supposed to mature and discover yourself during four years of arrested development? Tune in, turn on, drop out.</p>

<p>OK, those of you still reading. This is the real reason to be here. Ready? University is your one chance to devote yourself singlemindedly to getting an education.</p>

<p>(What, you already knew that? Most undergraduates I’ve met act like they never heard it.)</p>

<p>Never again will you have so much time and so many resources just for educating yourself. Sure, college has plenty of distractions, but it’s not about becoming “well-rounded,” and neither is life. “Well-rounded” was how you padded your résumé in high school. If you’re missing classes because you’re “busy” with such time-wasting nonsense as social dance, fraternity theme mixers, student politics, hangovers, weed, lacrosse, or writing Chronicle columns, you’re not ready for an education yet and shouldn’t be here. So drop out. I’m serious.</p>

<p>As a teenager you’re probably far too immature to appreciate this amazing opportunity; I sure was. I had a B- average, dropped out, worked for seven years, went back and got straight As, graduated, and… well, went to grad school, but don’t let me dissuade you. At least get a job for a few years. (News flash: in the real world, when you drink until dawn and have multiple sleazy hookups, nobody nags you.) I recommend you get far away from your high school friends and parents, preferably to another continent, and see how the rest of the world lives. Learn a couple more languages, live cheap, and save up enough to travel as much as you can. Open your eyes.</p>

<p>If after at least five years in the real world you still want an education, by all means come back to school, but be warned: it will seem a very different place. You’ll work hard without complaint, and only study what you’re passionate about. You won’t care about grades, but will be at the top of your class. Some of those professors and grad students will actually become your friends for life. Just try not to get too irritated at the vacuousness of the whining cosseted undergrads that surround you, and restrain yourself from interrupting all the time during lectures to point out why the professor’s wrong.</p>

<p>But remember—you don’t need to go to school to get an education. If you really want to, you can learn anywhere with a library. Spend that tuition money on travel, theater and language classes. Read a newspaper a day and a book a week. For under a thousand bucks you could assemble a library of philosophy, literature, science, history and poetry that would educate you for the rest of your life.</p>

<p>You’re sleepwalking; wake up. You’re babied; grow up. Stop frittering away your youth and cash in this four-year summer camp. Get a life. Get out. Drop out now.</p>

<p>Mike Dickison is a graduate student in Zoology. He’s finally finishing his dissertation.</p>

<p>Post your feedback</p>

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<p>nobody wants to comment :(</p>

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<p>Kind of like the old saying "youth is wasted on the young". College is wasted for most recent HS grads, but that's the way our society has it set up.</p>

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<p>He makes a good point, I think it would benefit some people to take some time off.</p>

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<p>He basically describes the men who came back after WWII. Service to one's country is a cheaper (albeit more dangerous) way to grow up. I shudder to think how much I will be spending on my two boys' undergraduate education.</p>

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<p>"Hey, undergraduate. All you learn at college is how to drink, have s e x.."</p>

<p>thats the point where his argument failed</p>

<p>( :</p>

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<p>"a modest proposal"</p>

<p>i.e. just as literal as swift's</p>

<p>i love it.</p>

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<p>there was also an article about the benefits of white supremacy in the Chronical. In other words, Duke's newspaper choose quite possibly the worst subjects to write about.</p>

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<p>ha ha ha. or mayne they are sadly reflective of the students at Duke :( :(</p>

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<p>not really...</p>

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<p>"there was also an article about the benefits of white supremacy in the Chronical."</p>

<p>as an international, 'non-white', this is very alarming. could you please elaborate ASAP?</p>

<p>there are still 4 days to go before i submit my deposit.
i have heard of racism at duke, is this true?
i am VERY concerned about this..
please respond</p>

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<p>i bet you anything it was satire</p>

<p>Duke is probably one of THE most liberal, both politically and socially, colleges in the U.S. due to the old Pres.</p>

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<p>i see..</p>

<p>and does being in the 'south' have anything to do with affecting peoples/professors/students attitudes towards non-whites?</p>

<p>when i visited most people were friendly (i did meet 2 jerks), but i assume that is the case on in most universitiy's. (?)</p>

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<p>I don't think Duke's location has much to do with its attitudes since only a small minority of students are coming from the south, with 15% being from N.C.</p>

<p>It is pretty international, and most students come from NY and Cali, just like Harvard, Yale and the like.</p>

<p>Also the proffesors are all highly educated and maybe even a little bit too liberal, coming from schools like Yale, UChicago, and Harvard.</p>

<p>To calm your fears, Duke was named one of the top schools for African American students to attend (or something similar, its on their site).</p>

<p>Also, 35% of last year's class was non-white. I'm Asian btw, and I know tons of Asians go to Duke as well (4,000 of the 18,000 applicants were Asian).</p>

<p>I hope you won't skip Duke because of the race issue, as its pretty much a non-issue for me and the other minority students I know.</p>

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<p>hey.. thanks alot for that</p>

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<p>I didnt see any racist bias on campus</p>

<p>in fact, in the dorm, everyone was very happy together</p>

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<p>The only person who has commented on the title of the article got it right. It's called A Modest Proposal. It's satire. Read Swift's.</p>

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<p>The "article" bean001 refers to is an editorial that ran last week by a student who has been studying the nascent White Nationalist Movement in this country. Her essay is about the savvy, manipulative way they are now selling their ignorant ideology to poor whites and, increasingly, middle class professionals. It's different from the hate-based rhetoric of the KKK of old and there's a disturbing threat (a "coming storm") of broader, more widespread support as a result of it. </p>

<p>Flamethrower, Bean001's interpretation is ignorant and irresponsible. And annoying. I'll be charitable and suggest that maybe he/she just didn't read past the first paragraph (the writer opens her piece with a mock example of white supremacists' sunny new sales approach).</p>

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<p>thanks for the clarification GreenShirt</p>

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<p>because i still think this needs clarification:</p>

<p>A Modest Proposal*</p>

<p>For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland
From Being Aburden to Their Parents or Country, and
For Making Them Beneficial to The Public</p>

<p>By Jonathan Swift (1729)</p>

<p>"I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout."</p>

<p>Yes, Swift's Modest Proposal suggests EATING IRISH BABIES TO GET RID OF POPULATION PROBLEMS. In other words, it is a satire guys. Just like suggesting we all drop out of school.</p>

<p>and I love the fact that the Chronicle prints controversial columns. Philip Kurian has a great track record for stirring up public opinion (any search will reveal the dozens of comments in response some of his pieces), and if it's something that creates dialogue, I applaud that. I in no way, however, approve of anything racist, anti-semitic, or the like, but having someone play devil's advocate is also a good way to solidify or question one's own belief system.</p>