Bums vs College students Vol. II (student loan, homes, live in)

[kingugly]

Pathetic attempt at humor.

[Runemaster]

Some of those "bums" you call drug addicts are actually people dealing with mental disabilities, overwhelming medical bills that wiped them out or other catastrophic hardships you can't even imagine.

What seems fair to me is for your daddy to pay the rent for some of the "bums" and put you out on the street so you can learn what life is all about.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by tongpa-nyi

Steve, that was brutally harsh and deliciously funny!

In fairness to Jordan, his writing is typical of American college students. When I taught seniors in Marketing at UT, I was appalled by the dismal lack of proficiency in their native language. Often the most articulate writers with the largest vocabularies were foreign students for whom English was a second language. And this was back in the early '90s before text messages and online chat accelerated the enfeeblement of the common lexicon.

This. And it's been going on for WAY too long. The horror stories I've heard from friends who were responsible for educating students at the college level regarding the basic ability to write go back a couple of decades.

I blame the "oh, well, it doesn't matter if they spell or use proper grammar and we can't hurt their feelings" attitude of education (encouraged - nay, demanded - by the parents, sadly enough, who care more about their little darlings' hurt feelings than about them being prepared for life, apparently).

[austin-steve]

The horror stories I've heard from friends who were responsible for educating students at the college level regarding the basic ability to write go back a couple of decades.

Try exchanging emails with the typical Realtor, or builder onsite agent. Poor punctuation, no capital letters used, incoherent sentence and paragraph structure.

I think part of the problem is people responding to non-urgent emails from their hand held devices instead of waiting to get to the office and sending a proper reply.

Steve

Here

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by absolutely

there is so much wrong with this. most notably, your grammar is pathetic for an assumed "college student". i'm sure you'll lower the grading curve to everyone's advantage.

it would seem as if you wouldn't NEED to stand on a corner and beg for money, as the majority of your basic necessities are paid for by someone else. begging is generally reserved for those who require small amounts of funding to survive.

there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to pay for your "FOOD, truck, gas, and cell phone". there are numerous part time jobs available within the city today, that would more than facilitate your needs. i'd be willing to guess, considering your obvious lack of common sense, that you havn't performed the neccesary leg work to achieve your goals. does "truck" imply that you have a car payment? if so, why in the hell would you have such an expense at 19, while you apparently are unable to afford food?

it is a grossly bigoted outlook on the homeless, to assume they will only use money for drugs or alcohol. there are many in austin, including myself, who commonly give the homeless food, drinks and clothing. at no point have these items been rejected as if they were unneeded. they were taken with open arms, and normally embraced with sincere thanks. unless i've formed a relationship with someone less fortunate, i never give cash. not because i think "they'll just buy booze and drugs", but because i don't believe money helps the homeless directly as much as providing the items they actually need to survive. do you know anyone personally, who is homeless? how have you come to such assumptions concerning their behavior? i suggest you spend some time getting to know the ones in need, closest to you. volunteer at a shelter or a food bank. live in reality, don't just dwell in your ignorance. actually get out and interact with the north american decay that is suffering, and wandering around the corners of our streets

"If homeless/drug addicted bums can make a living off the community, shouldn't a good looking hard working college student look to his community for a couple of bucks." no. once again, this is gross and arrogant speculation to believe that bums are "drug addicted". furthermore, inherently "bums" are "homeless". i believe the fact that you've stated "good looking" as if it matters, surely proves how vain you are. if i saw you standing on a corner begging for money for the explanation you've provided, it would take every ounce of self control not to wildly accelerate my car in your direction.

i don't understand the point of your post, but take this scenario into consideration. my mother, while raising my brother and i, decided to go to college at age 35. she attended a world renowned liberal arts school, while paying her own rent and the majority of tuition costs. my mother was single and not provided assistance for food, gas or further expenses. not only did she graduate with exceptional honors, she did it while raising two rowdy boys and employed at multiple part time jobs. i don't feel sorry for you.

grow up.

Please come down off of your high horse.

I used to work in the nonprofit sector a few years back, specifically working in conjunction with a New England city's health and human services department's effort on the behalf of homelessness issues. Unfortunately, most people who are permanently homeless have drug/alcohol or mental health issues (do some research, there is lots and lots of information out there) We'd have open shelters and many would prefer sleeping under the bridges so that they could continue to drink or shoot up. It is really sad but that's what people in the helping professions are faced with. There are great organizations out there provide food and shelter, give your money to them instead.

It's true the OP is a bit distasteful but I've even joked to a friend of mine that I'd like to find a good corner one day and hold a sign asking for help to pay my student loans. Begging isn't "reserved" for anyone. All you need is a sign and chutzpah.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

This. And it's been going on for WAY too long. The horror stories I've heard from friends who were responsible for educating students at the college level regarding the basic ability to write go back a couple of decades.

I blame the "oh, well, it doesn't matter if they spell or use proper grammar and we can't hurt their feelings" attitude of education (encouraged - nay, demanded - by the parents, sadly enough, who care more about their little darlings' hurt feelings than about them being prepared for life, apparently).

So after a several years of being out of college, I decided to go to law school. I attended a top tier school with median LSAT scores of 163 the year I entered (which I believe was the 90th percentile) and median GPA something like like a 3.6. It was one of the most difficult schools to gain admittance to on the west coast. So one would assume that the students coming in were some of the better college graduates out there.

We used to have to exchange written assignments with classmates. The other older students (over thirty) and I were dumbfounded by the majority's inability to write a coherent thought. These weren't engineering or hard sciences graduates where one would assume that a person's undergraduate program didn't demand a lot of writing. These were liberal arts majors. When I studied the liberal arts way back in 20th century, you had to write papers, and then more papers, and finally even more papers. Somewhere along the way I'd manged to learn how to express myself clearly in writing as did most of my other classmates.

How people are getting through four years of college, graduating with A and A- averages, where writing is supposedly a big part of their curriculum and they still cannot organize thoughts on paper is absolutely beyond me.

Is it the public school system today? Is it too much TV? Is it the dumbing down of our culture?

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

Try exchanging emails with the typical Realtor, or builder onsite agent. Poor punctuation, no capital letters used, incoherent sentence and paragraph structure.

I think part of the problem is people responding to non-urgent emails from their hand held devices instead of waiting to get to the office and sending a proper reply.

Steve

Here

Oh, heck, even when I text, I use proper spelling, punctuation, and complete sentences!

I do think that part of the problem is people thinking that bringing "text speak" into anything OTHER than texting doesn't make them look incredibly uneducated and, well, fourteen. But the overall problem predates the mobile phone in its current incarnation or, for that matter, email at all.

[cdfblair]

Jordan, no one is going to give a well dressed guy money. Many people hate to give out money to others on the corner. They usually donate to an organization. I wish you the best, but it may be easier to get a part time job!

[austin-steve]

How people are getting through four years of college, graduating with A and A- averages, where writing is supposedly a big part of their curriculum and they still cannot organize thoughts on paper is absolutely beyond me.

Yep. It's amazing. I'm not relying on the schools. I personally teach my kids how to write. They are also avid readers, which helps a lot.

I'm just now letting my 13 year old dip her big toe into email. I kept my oldest off email until after 9th grade. Part of her "initiation" into the privilege of having an email account and being allowed to use it is that she must demonstrate to me that she can write well. So, for now, she is allowed to email only me, her Mom, sister and grandma.

During this stage, I email to her writing assignments to which she must respond. For example:

"Tell me about your favorite teacher at school, and the teacher you enjoy the least. Use specific examples of why you like or don't like each teacher".


She did, and then I "graded" her response and helped her tune it up a bit. I do the same thing with other "assignments' and she seems to enjoy answering and getting the feedback. My 11th grader is doing well in AP English and writes very well already. I so dislike poor writing that I refuse to send my two kids into the world not knowing how to write well.

Steve

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

Somewhere along the way I'd manged to learn how to express myself clearly in writing as did most of my other classmates.

Ha! Apparently, I never learned how to spell (despite making it through 20 years of formal education).