How many times have we heard or read of young black males who strive to reach for the stars but are unable to reach their full potential because of insurmountable odds stacked against them? Well, another one bites the dust...
I just got word from my youngest son that he will not be attending his second year of mechanical engineering at UCLA- not because he flunked, but because he's broke! He's hit the "green" ceiling (dollars) not the glass ceiling most minorities run into. What a shame, I say. Last year, there were 55,000 freshmen applicants to UCLA for just about 5,000 spots. Imagine beating those odds for a young black male from Texas who competed solely on his grades- not sports, not music, not anything but his academic record- AND HE MADE IT! There were very few African American males accepted into the university and even fewer accepted into the engineering school, and now it seems it was all for naught.
Unfortunately, with a $30,000 college bill my son had to work 30-40 hrs per week while taking a full load of math and science courses and he paid a deep, deep price for it through a slowly, slipping GPA. He had some scholarships last year, but they were one time shots and not renewable which is why he can't return to school at the end of this month. We borrowed what we could, but it still is not enough, and he is practical and realistic enough to know he can't start school without knowing where the tuition and room and board will come from.
This is reality in 2008, folks, and he is one of many- and as a parent who is finally trying to finish college herself, I hope business and government will see the loss in their own bottom lines when quality students can't pay for school or compete globally. Ten years ago my son was diagnosed with a chronic, auto-immune disease and he overcame many obstacles just to maintain his grades to get to college, and now it's all falling apart. I am such a proponent of Dr. Bill Cosby's cry to "Come On, People!", but what's a person to do when they do try to get it all together? What a sin and a shame this situation is! We'd appreciate your prayers and suggestions.
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Friday, September 5th 2008 at 11:52AM
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