Show Lets Let's Be Sure Were We're Right Editors Editor's Note This editorial published in the Nov 21 edition edition edition edi edi- edi- edi tion of the Midvale Sentinel is reprinted with the permission of the publisher With all of Utah's colleges and universities asking for almost million an increase of percent it is time we took a look at our colleges A college education sounds great It is great But is it the thing we should be doing for our young people Current statistics show that students working toward degrees degrees degrees de de- de- de grees are not preparing them themselves elves for the future When 77 percent percent percent per per- cent of the young people are preparing themselves for 13 percent of the jobs they are being foolish for a lot of them are going to be without jobs or go elsewhere for them A lot smarter is the 13 percent group that is preparing for 77 percent of the jobs They are going to have their pick of the good jobs Dont Don't misunderstand We need universities We need engineers engineers engineers en en- doctors lawyers and other professional people but we dont don't need 77 percent of our young people prepared for these positions because only 13 percent of the jobs are in these categories It seems quite obvious to the ordinary citizen that college freshmen who must take bonehead English because they cannot cannot cannot can can- not pass their entrance exams are simply not college material But the colleges and universities are asking for almost all of the vast increase for the next biennium We feel these requests include a great deal of duplication The Technical Colleges at Salt Lake and Provo Prove which should be preparing young people for 77 percent of the jobs are asking for only modest increases increases 18 18 million for Salt Lake and just over a half a million for Provo Between them these Technical cal Colleges are asking for only 56 million out of the total of 1197 million The Tech Colleges do not have glamorous football and basketball basketball basketball bas bas- teams playing in colorful sports arenas they have no sororities and fraternities They have ambitious working hard-working kids trying to make their funds stretch for a year or two of schooling schooling schooling school school- ing so they can get a good job that requires hard work instead of sitting behind a desk It is a simple fact that the taxpayer cannot afford the expansion expansion expansion sion that the big colleges and universities ask so that they can keep up with the Joneses and provide the athletic scholarships scholarships scholarships scholar scholar- ships that will keep them high in intercollegiate competition In our opinion it would be smarter to give the Tech Schools 1 00 percent increases or more if they can use it and require the colleges and universities to get along on about what they are arenow arenow arenow now receiving Once there was a dream that everyone should have a college education but that's a dream that didn't come true and we are only fooling ourselves if we try to provide enough money to realize such a dream |