2008 Woodie Awards
A Piece of 'Py'
It's all about who you know in the real world
Sam Hollingsworth
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Opinion
Originally published: 10/4/07 at 10:31 PM EST
Last update: 10/4/07 at 10:30 PM EST
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As the year 2007 comes to an end, I, like a number of other students, am starting more than just another new year when January 2008 rolls in.
I'll be stepping out for that next chapter of my life and begin that journey toward a promising life of happiness and a successful career - at the bottom of the totem pole, of course.
Aiming toward New York City for a job at a magazine or newspaper, normal assumption would be that I would have less of a chance to get hired when competing against journalists from more-prominent colleges from across the country.
New York is the journalism Mecca and I'm one of many with the dream of getting a "break" and landing a job that I want.
Hell, I'd take any job that I was capable of doing - any entry-level journalist would.
OK, so it's obvious that my chances of getting a job at the New York Daily News over someone who attended Columbia University are slim.
But were my chances of going to Columbia the same as me coming to Plattsburgh State?
A working-class family and dreams can't get you into a great college without years of dedication and commitment, something I openly admit I lacked throughout my high school years.
Is that my fault? Probably, but the brat with the silver spoon could be screwing up at the same time, even worse that me, but daddy's cash flow takes care of that.
It's possible for me to get into one of America's top schools without the capital to put myself there, but the odds are definitely stacked up against me.
And, even though a lot of upper- and middle-class citizens believe any one individual, regardless of where they came from or who their family is, is equally eligible to do so, plenty of people believe differently.
The New York Times, for instance, ran an op-ed on Sept. 24, 2007 by a University of California, Berkeley professor titled: "The New College Try," discussing multiple reports of just how true that is not.
"Just how skewed the system is toward the already advantaged is illustrated by the findings of a recent study of 146 selective colleges and universities, which concluded that students from the top quartile of the socioeconomic hierarchy (based on parental income, education and occupation) are 25 times more likely to attend a 'top tier' college than students from the bottom quartile," Jerome Karabel wrote.
I'll be stepping out for that next chapter of my life and begin that journey toward a promising life of happiness and a successful career - at the bottom of the totem pole, of course.
Aiming toward New York City for a job at a magazine or newspaper, normal assumption would be that I would have less of a chance to get hired when competing against journalists from more-prominent colleges from across the country.
New York is the journalism Mecca and I'm one of many with the dream of getting a "break" and landing a job that I want.
Hell, I'd take any job that I was capable of doing - any entry-level journalist would.
OK, so it's obvious that my chances of getting a job at the New York Daily News over someone who attended Columbia University are slim.
But were my chances of going to Columbia the same as me coming to Plattsburgh State?
A working-class family and dreams can't get you into a great college without years of dedication and commitment, something I openly admit I lacked throughout my high school years.
Is that my fault? Probably, but the brat with the silver spoon could be screwing up at the same time, even worse that me, but daddy's cash flow takes care of that.
It's possible for me to get into one of America's top schools without the capital to put myself there, but the odds are definitely stacked up against me.
And, even though a lot of upper- and middle-class citizens believe any one individual, regardless of where they came from or who their family is, is equally eligible to do so, plenty of people believe differently.
The New York Times, for instance, ran an op-ed on Sept. 24, 2007 by a University of California, Berkeley professor titled: "The New College Try," discussing multiple reports of just how true that is not.
"Just how skewed the system is toward the already advantaged is illustrated by the findings of a recent study of 146 selective colleges and universities, which concluded that students from the top quartile of the socioeconomic hierarchy (based on parental income, education and occupation) are 25 times more likely to attend a 'top tier' college than students from the bottom quartile," Jerome Karabel wrote.
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Todd
posted 10/22/07 @ 10:50 AM EST
If you were my nephew...I'd get you a job py
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