Reading through Austerity Blues, I had a hard time thinking of what an argument for austerity could possibly be. I know I live in a quasi Democratic/Socialist bubble, but how could the erosion of publicly funded good lead to anything but a further reliance on public goods. If you decrease the quality, breath, and depth of public assistance without any policy in place for a transition (i.e.: getting individuals off unemployment via job training or an increase in civil job opportunities), you’re leaving already vulnerable citizens in an increasingly vulnerable position.

I thought about Paul Krugman (currently on the GC’s faculty, I know this is controversial) and what a large Keynesian he is. Increased spending doesn’t just seem like an option for getting over deficits, it seems like the only one.

Public education is a clear investment into the future. An educated (of we could debate what this means and the white supremacist ideal of being “well educated”) population makes for a more productive population (a capitalistic ideal). I’m not advocating that we strive for a high-earning population, but it appears to me, individuals who graduate from college are more likely to find long-term employment and have high earning potential than not. This is to say if we subsidize education, are we not paying it forward? Are we not shepherding in a generation that will go on to be less reliant on public “handouts?”

In a sense, I’m oversimplifying this, and perhaps relying too much on the myth of social mobility, but a BA (or even an Associates) from any university, public or private, increases the number of positions you’re qualified to hold, and you’re in a place where you can continue on to more schooling if that’s of interest.

College Campuses Must Reopen in the Fall. Here’s How We Do It.

Irony of being tuition-driven and also a bastion of upward mobility: The spread of education, including college and graduate education, enables upward mobility and is an essential contributor to the upward march of living standards in the United States and around the world.

“They must also be sensitive to the particular challenge of controlling the spread of disease on a college campus. A typical dormitory has shared living and study spaces. A traditional lecture hall is not conducive to social distancing. Neither are college parties, to say the least. We must take particular care to prevent and control infection in this environment”—speaking about a typical college environment/conventional, normal aged students

Setting aside appropriate spaces for isolation and quarantine (e.g. hotel rooms) may be costly, but necessary.—money to expend 

She’s speaking for all schools—understands the entire scope of postsecondary education in America?

Fearing a Second Wave, Cal State Will Keep Classes Online in the Fall

480,000 undergraduates to 23 campuses in the fall.

“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the finances of colleges and universities, a large number of which were already struggling before virus-related closures.”: why do universities struggle so much with funding? Is it because maintenance is legitimately expensive, or is indicative of the state of the economy? Funding and The University are intertwined concepts—do we expect too much from these establishments?

“ ‘Our university, when open without restrictions and fully in person, as is the traditional norm of the past, is a place where over 500,000 people come together in close and vibrant proximity with each other on a daily basis,” he said. “That approach, sadly, just isn’t in the cards now.’ ”—the unspoken benefits of university—the conversations in passing. Seeing other kinds of people. A way of life altered that’s impossible to replicate online.

“Wayne State University in Detroit, a virus hot spot”—the virus and class/race.

College Made Them Feel Equal. The Virus Exposed How Unequal Their Lives Are.

How do we deal with a false sense of equity within an academic setting?

Haverford as testing site: all types of students at a prestigious, competitive school—buck doesn’t stop there. Inherent ordinance based on student’s “situatedness” outside of the school’s bubble. 

Haverford is a Quaker college—the limits of an institutional missions?

Colleges Won’t Refund Tuition. Autumn May Force a Reckoning.

Why do people send their children off to College? Of course, a question like this dismisses a student’s own aspirations—or have their aspirations been subliminally determined? Do kids actually want to go to college?

“Most people send their children off to college to accomplish one (or all) of at least three goals: They want to stuff their heads so full of knowledge that they explode and then need reassembly into new and improved adult brains. They want their kids to find their people — the friends and mentors who will carry them through life. Finally, there is the credential: A diploma that means something to those who see it on a résumé, one that may also offer a chance to jump a rung or two up the economic ladder.”—is a degree enough anymore? Everyone has them.

Professors want good instruction for their students. Is there such a thing as a bad professor in 21^st century academia? Knowing what we do about the difficulty of graduate school admissions and how difficult it is to get a job, is this field not self-selecting enough to produce well inclined driven people?

A Brown degree retains its value, even if it was online—Harvard Extension school—when an education is like a designer bag—a school’s brand has value.

So two things seem certain: First, any issuance of unilateral refunds probably diminishes the future undergraduate experience somehow. Cut enough — through firings or food or ceasing construction or raiding endowments — and the value of a school’s brand can fall.

“Put a value on what you’ve lost”—how to quantify something amorphous and ineffable. Is there a standard agreement on the value? What to look to—earnings post-graduation?

Private schools: cost beyond what tuition is. If it was perfectly 1:1, what would tuition be?