Post #4- Deep Analysis
Ever since we were little we are always asked one particular question which is, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” As children, we do not think of the physical work we have to do in order to become what we want to be. We just blurt out, “I want to be an astronaut, a doctor, a princess, or a police officer.” Nevertheless, our parents never told us that college was one of the tools we need in order for us to accomplish our dream jobs. Attending college is not an easy decision, but for some families, it is the only tool they have in order to have a moderate life. However, how will some of these families attain a better life if higher education institutions (colleges) are not in their favor?
Background of The Article
While doing my research, I came across an article that deepens my thinking about the college system in the United States. On September 18, 2018, Barret J. Taylor and Brendan Cantwell, published an article called, “Unequal Higher Education in the United States: Growing Participation and Shrinking Opportunities.” In this article, Barret J. Taylor, a professor, and counselor of higher education, and Brendan Cantwell, an associate professor and coordinator of the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education (HALE) program argue that there is an institutional inequality in the United States. They further investigate that many of the opportunities given to a diverse group of students is unequal and receive different kinds of institutions than a non-diverse group of students. One point they found out was that diverse students are less likely to be accepted in higher institutions.
Before reading this article, I used to think that one of the reasons why tuition was expensive was because the institutions provided students with better learning tools. However, now I know that higher education institutions are unequal and have always been unequal to diverse students. As a result, this article actually intensified my opinion. This is another reason why college tuition should be free.
Are higher education institutions unequal to students?
In the United States, inequality has been a very crucial issue for centuries. Although we have slowly evolved, it still has an impact today, especially in the higher education institutions. You might ask, how is there still inequality in higher education institutions? Didn’t we end segregated schools? Yes, we did, but there are still clear indications that many of these institutions are still implementing inequality.
Cantwell and Taylor explain that racial inequality in higher education institutions is not demolished. They stated that “highly selective campuses that offer good value seats disproportionately over-represent White students.” This means that even if a non-White student has accomplished the same amount of work or even much more than a White student, it is more likely that the institution will not take their application into consideration.
Although Cantwell and Taylor explain how race is not the only basis for inequality in higher education institutions, they believed that racial inequality was the most common and obvious one. For example, Cantwell and Taylor used data directly from the IPEDS, an Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System from the U.S federal government. This system allows us to physically see the demographics of institutions. The data that Cantwell and Taylor found demonstrated that in all the Institutions, Universities, Multiversities and Elite schools, the percentage of White students were much higher than any other race.
This information deepens my opinion because there are so many minorities that do not have the money to get into higher education institutions. Instead, they work really vigorously in school until they receive a scholarship or an opportunity to apply to an elite institution. However, it is clear now that all their hard work will not matter because these institutions will most likely base their decision on a student’s race or even their social class. Furthermore, let’s say if a minority student is accepted in a higher education institution, there is no chance that he/she will still be able to succeed. Cantwell and Taylor state that, “almost all higher education institutions in the U.S graduate a higher percentage of White students than Black or Latino students.” This means that a minority student does not have the same likelihood of obtaining a degree than a White student.
In conclusion, I believe that if students receive free tuition, every student will have an equal chance of getting accepted in any institution and obtain a degree. This can also lower or even demolish the racial inequality in higher education institutions for good! As you can see, this article has definitely deepen my opinion and it has made more determined to make this proposal happen.
Work Cited
Taylor, Barrett J., and Brendan Cantwell. “Unequal Higher Education in the UnitedStates: Growing Participation and Shrinking Opportunities.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 18 Sept. 2018, www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/9/167/htm.
