Rick Santorum and College

Rick Santorum made some comments about college that gained a lot of attention.

While Rick Santorum makes two good points in his comments, he misses the big picture about why some may eschew college; especially the big name, expensive ones.

First, what he hit head on. American colleges are notoriously Liberal and left-leaning. While I was fortunate enough to go to a college where original thought was encouraged, no matter the leaning, not every student has this privilege. At many, right-leaning is discouraged and those who speak out are intimidated to shut up and tow the line. I have known people who fell in line with their professors' leftist ideology and have come out of their four year college experience more to the left and more radical then when they started.

While I will one day encourage my children to go to college and I currently encourage my students to do the same, Santorum is right in that college is not for everyone. My idealism may have inspired many of my students who wouldn't be considered "students" to give it the old "college try," but realism won out, as over the years, I have come across students who hold different interests; whether working with their hands, joining the military or wanting to pass on further schooling to get right into the working world. College can always be an option later in life, but for them, the wisest choice was to first pursue their passion.

As I earlier stated, Rick Santorum had a chance to shine here and missed his moment. If I wrote that speech, I would have brought up and connected other items to come to the conclusion of why one may eschew college.

Tuition costs are through the roof and have the possibility of eating up a family's savings. When figuring in room, board and fees, America's best schools like Princeton, Drew, Vanderbilt, Stanford and Columbia are between $50,000 and $60,000 per year, forcing many who don't have the money or don't want to be paying those loans off for years to come, to opt out or choose less expensive state-sponsored institutions. And if a student does take a college loan, thanks to Obama, the process is now federalized, creating a government monopoly that is likely to lead to higher interest rates and more headaches. And most importantly, students are seeing the high unemployment rates continue, making them wonder if they'll have a job when college is done. In this recession, young Americans have been particularly hit hard by high unemployment. Combine these three items and it makes many students say, "Why bother?!?"

Taking this direction would have opened up a new attack on the President and with raised awareness, could have been an impetus into "bursting the bubble;" making college costs more reasonable for American students and families. Rick Santorum's missed opportunity on the college discussion helped contribute to his loss in Michigan, also gave the media the ability to take his comments out of context and could very well lead to his defeat in the primary process.