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Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Opinion
The Slate Speaks
Students will be affected by chancellor’s directives
College enrollment has fallen about 20% since 2010, according to Trib Live. Whether it is because of high tuition costs or general disinterest, every year fewer students decide to seek higher education. In order to balance the budget, Pennsylvania universities were directed by Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s (PASSHE) Chancellor Daniel Greenstein to reduce the number of temporary employees in order to support permanent faculty. This will decrease the number of adjunct professors and other provisional positions. PASSHE’s mission is to encourage individuals who seek higher education to enroll in one of its 14 universities.
However, because PASSHE’s enrollment rate is decreasing, so are its finances. Universities need to cope with these mandates by making cuts and accommodations for the directives. Higher education administrators need to prioritize having sufficient faculty. With fewer adjuncts, the student population is divided into an insubstantial number of classes. Class sizes matter. Professors are unable to effectively teach and students have more difficulty learning in large lecture hall settings. Instructors are unable to cater to each student’s needs because of the contrasting ratio. The low ratio between students and professors is what sets SU apart
from larger private universities. At larger schools, courses are offered in lecture halls with hundreds of students. For most of us at SU, our largest general education classes are around 40 students. SU’s student to faculty ratio is 20:1. This number is similar across the State System. PASSHE schools offer a personal experience and the ability to build personal relationships. At SU, students are more than a number. We have the opportunity to get to know our professors during office hours. How can we develop those same bonds when professors are burdened with twice or three times as many students as they should have?
Take five minutes: The facade of a minimum wage increase
Maria Maresca Staff Columnist
The current Democratic front-runners in the 2020 presidential race, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Pete Buttigieg, each hold common ground on one particular policy: Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Though this glamorized utopian idea of increased hourly pay appears ideal, it is a ruse in every right. When examined closer, it will harm rather than help the American people as a whole. According to a 2019 study conducted by the Congressional Budget Office, increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour would boost the income of 17 million Americans but would additionally put an astounding 1.3 million individuals out of work.
This is one of many reasons that 75% of U.S.-based economists advise against the jump from $7.25 to $15 per hour. Economic theory suggests that the higher the wage is, the less quantity of labor is actually needed. Simply put, labor becomes pricier to carry out for businesses which acts as a hindrance when providing sufficient, workable hours for employees. The emergence of a higher federal wage realistically produces an increased demand for jobs due to the allure of profitable gain. But, as work opportunities become limited due to heightened expense, the notion of offering more jobs is made more difficult for companies that are not willing to spend additional amounts. These two factors create a paradox which calls attention to failure of the chief reason for raising the minimum wage: Aiding those who are not able to properly provide for themselves with current wages. Although, if you are trying to survive solely on minimum wage, your financial and living situation is much more severe and goes beyond the aspect of the minimum wage dilemma. Again, because of improved pay, more highly
skilled applicants apply to traditionally lower-skilled jobs and these higher-skilled people then replace lower skilled workers because employers want to hire those with more skills instead. Outside the realm of labor issues is the concern with the amount of profit that is accrued by companies. According to the Heritage Foundation, most firms employing minimum wage workers are small businesses that have low profit margins, which represents the percentage of sales a company has translated into profit. Therefore, businesses will be obligated to raise prices in order to continue proper profit margins. With a rise in prices, a domino effect takes hold and it is projected that customers will buy less product, which equals less sales as a result. I challenge any supporters of raising the federal minimum wage, especially young people, to re-evaluate their stance based on the economic problems and employment strife it brings. Throwing more money into the game does not always equal an improvement with current circumstances. The historic economic record and with its reams of research only confirm such findings time and again.
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they are simply students. They lack years of expertise, research and education. It is not the job of students to teach their peers. While it is important to balance the budget, the quality of students’ education must be kept in check. The value of a Shippensburg education stems from the hard work of our professors. They are the ones on the front lines everyday. PASSHE needs to find a sustainable way to run its universities, but removing full-time and adjunct faculties, who students rely on every day, is not the answer. To voice your opinion on the future of PASSHE, attend the chancellor’s open forum in the Old Main Chapel at 11 a.m. on Feb. 27.
Give it a thought:
Americans don’t know black history
Chase Slenker Staff Columnist
Black History month takes place in February in the United States, which is an annual celebration of achievements and accomplishments by African Americans, both past and present. It began as “Negro History Week” as a way of remembering the crucial role of African Americans in the U.S. However, many students and Americans as a whole truly do not know and understand black history. This ignorance is not one of deliberate purpose, however as many historians say, “History is written by the victors.” This writing of history also includes our textbooks and the common knowledge passed down
Where’s your voice? •
When there are fewer students in a classroom, there is more time for interaction and conversation. The most enriching classes are the ones in which the professor knows all of the students’ names and each student has the opportunity to contribute to classroom discussions. When professors spend more time planning and grading, students have to rely on peer tutors to learn class concepts. This makes relationships between professors and students harder to build. The burden falls on students to teach each other course material when professors are too busy advising other students and conducting research. While the salaries of peer tutors are cheaper than professors,
from generation to generation. Our education system and society as a whole has only recently begun to research and educate on the subject in-depth. Black History Month continues to exist as a way to expand American education. Evaluate what you know about African American history: Historical figures, important events, cultural origins and changes, etc. I had the privilege of speaking with Lance Walker, owner of Walker’s Barber Shop in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and barber at SHIP CUTS, about the lack of common knowledge on black history. In our discussion he challenged me and those waiting to get our haircuts to name five black historical figures who were not Rosa Parks, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglas, Thurgood Marshall or former president, Barack Obama. Of the six people in that room, who were a composite of different races, nobody could name five other people. I only could think of four (Clarence Thomas, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B Dubois and Malcolm X). Hopefully you fare bet-
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ter on this quick quiz than we all did. The odds are against you, however. Black history in America is not taught often and is by no means common knowledge. Not only do many young Americans not know black history, but they also lack background in history and civics in general. On the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 18-27% of 29,000 eighth-graders tested “proficient” in American history and civics. Additionally, a recent Southern Poverty Law Center report shows that few K-12 teachers have the textbooks, understanding and comfort with the material to teach about slavery and the civil rights movement. The lack of competency in education, the lack of knowledge of history and the public’s ignorance on black history makes black history month so critical to the education and societal development of America. Going forward, give this a thought. Read and learn more about black writers like Maya Angelou, athletes like Jackie Robinson, musicians like Scott Joplin and so many more important people in history.
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