10
2017-2018
opinion
thecurrent
Isabel Barni | Opinion Editor opinion@thegrcurrent.com www.thegrcurrent.com
A Choice Between Prestige And Efficiency By: Alex Markovich Staff Writer Community colleges, while not as prestigious as universities, are able to adequately prepare students for the future. Annamarie Graver, a 17 year old Running Start student, said “[Because of what I was told in high school], I felt like if I didn’t go to university, jobs wouldn’t look at my application as much as they would look at others. I’ve learned that that’s wrong.” In reality, attending a community college before, or even instead of, a university could very well be a beneficial option for many people. The biggest reason why many people attend community college is to save money while earning their AA degree. The average cost for a full year tuition at a community college is around $9,000. This is much cheaper compared to an in-state college like the University of Washington which, not including housing, has an annual cost of around $26,000. That price almost doubles to $45,000 for out of state students. For those who want to save even more money, Running Start students have additional benefits
when it comes to attending community college in place of university. Not only can students graduate high school with their AA, but they also do not have to pay tuition. This saves an individual thousands of dollars annually, making 2-year colleges an even better option for those still attending high school. Running Start student Connor Bitney said, “I am currently in Running Start because I would like to earn my AA for free through my district, then transfer straight into a four-year university... If I hadn’t chosen this road, and at the end of my senior year had to choose between Green River or a university, I would attend Green River because of the cost.” However, because of the large price difference between schools, students may begin to wonder if universities provide a better education than community colleges. With public schools pushing their students to believe the only correct path to take is that of a 4-year institution, the true value of attending a 2-year
school can be forgotten. Despite what many teenagers are pressured to believe, simply the class size difference of 2-year schools and universities may be enough to help prepare a student.
Community colleges have an average of 5,000-20,000 students on campus. On the other hand, most major 4-year universities have well over 20,000 students. Larger campuses have an upward of almost 56,000 students.
Because the average class size tends to be smaller at community colleges, the students attending have a better chance of getting individual help from a professor. With this focused attention, it is more likely that a student will have the help that they potentially need to succeed in the future. Some students worry about taking classes whose credits won’t transfer over to a university. However, community college boards work to ensure that academic courses are up to date and meet the needs in order for credits to transfer to 4-year institutions. However, when it comes to school spirit, community colleges tend to not live up to the standards set by 4-year universities. A benefit that comes from a larger class size is more people attending sports games and other events. This creates a more dedicated fan base. There also tends to be a higher quality in universities than community colleges simply because of the additional money invested in larger
campuses. This funding goes into multiple fields, including sports, teaching, and aesthetics. The difference in quality betwen the different forms of education could further persuade someone to choose a specific institution. Neither community colleges or universities are superior to the other. Both supply a student with very different benefits and drawbacks. It is an individual student’s responsibility to decide between the differences on where to go after completing high school. Students aiming for a specific field of study or who plan to earn an AA or BA at a fraction of the cost may prefer 2-year colleges. Those who have interest in a larger social community or a highly trained profession have the option to bypass community colleges and enroll directly into a university. The decision on which option surpasses the other is in the eye of the beholder. People from all walks of life have been able to succeed from multiple different backgrounds. Because of this, university students should not be viewed as superior to community college attendees. Both could be striving for two very different goals.
Originality In Music: A Concept Of The Past By: Deja Cook Staff Writer Since the 1960s, the music industry has changed from searching out fresh voices to attempting to imitate talent. With this change, there is an epidemic at hand; all popular music sounds the same. It’s not just the voices of young artists, but the tune and lyrics as well. There are so many unoriginal factors that make up music today. These factors make something as enjoyable as music feel nauseating to listen to. Let’s look into this. People may wonder why hearing what initially appeared to be a great song for the fifth time eventually becomes boring. Alongside this, music listeners gradually begin to notice while flipping through tracks that several artists tend to sound similar to each other. Pop music has evolved into something almost unrecognizable in last 60 years. During the mid-1950s to 1960s, music was just hitting a new era of different sounds and voices.
In this era, there were singers like music industry. There were a lot Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, of good key factors that she did Frank Sinatra, and other dynamic mention, one of them being about singers that expanded a completely singing contests and music shows. different meaning to music. While She mentions the significant these singers did not just stick to amount of copies in the industry pop music, they really made a big could be due to the producing impact in other of these talent genres such as since their “The beat, the rhythm, shows, R&B and gospel. aim is to find a and the lyrics in this certain sound Not only did people enjoy the that they are sure newer generation of vocal styles of can be successful. music are the same.” They also know these singers, - Deja Cook what the masses they also liked the soul and like so it is more passion that of a production came with them. than making people consider someWhile there has been a new disthing new. covery of talent in the music indusHip hop and R&B are an issue as try, there was also a new discovery well. The beat, the rhythm, and the of surety of making money as well. lyrics in this newer generation of Did modern producers experimusic are the same. Once again, ence a boom in sales? That is very this genre is faced with an originalpossible. Is it possible that the ity problem. Women, sex, money, “new” talents they find in this genand fame are the topics in most, if eration are just for production purnot all, rap and R&B songs. poses? That is also very possible. This new move of topics became Kelly Einsenhour, teacher in the more blatant and obvious in the Music Department at the college, mid-1990s. However, we had artist gave a lot of insight about the like India Arie, Lauryn Hill and
many others talent to keep things in perspective. Now, we have artists in today’s world that are surpassing their predecessors, and not in a good way. Most of the lyrics and music of this generation revolves around misogynistic and materialistic views that, of course, do not display or highlight self-respect and equality. Do they honestly deserve this much recognition? When speaking with student Jennifer Meyers about her honest opinion on today’s music, she brought up an interesting topic. Meyers spoke about how a singer by the name of Cardi B had surpassed Lauryn Hill on the Billboard charts and thus became the number one hip hop/R&B artist for three consecutive weeks. Meyers found this to be quite unsavory news as Lauryn Hill has had a positive feedback in the music industry as being the definition of a female hip hop and R&B artist. ‘Realness” was a word Meyers used in the conversation. “I connect with the realness of music” she then said, “Music has changed as
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far as realness goes… it has become more of what will sell and you can tell that.” Her statement brings a very valid point. The music industry has definitely become more about what will sell and what will not. wincreasingly difficult to be an artist with originality. If there were artists that speak a different message and have a soulful or interesting singing style, they should be popular. While that may be the case for some artists, it cannot be the same for all.