Dear Editor,
In many recent discussions I have — much to my own dismay — perceived a pattern that should be most disturbing to any concerned with the value of education. Karen McMahan of Whittier College, chastening a student, said, “Your problem is that you want a college degree, not a college education.” It is my opinion that this statement also applies to many here at La Verne [“Does campus life really matter?” Nov. 21].
I was most recently discussing the idea of forming Greek academic society based on philosophy. Quite promptly, the idea was shot down as being “to academic.” It was my understanding that we were attending an institution of higher learning; a university. It was also my impression that university students are naturally self-motivated and, as Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in The American Scholar, “The true scholar grudges every opportunity of action past by, as a loss of power.” However, it has been my observation that many students are rather apathetic about the learning experience and possess a greater propensity towards epicureanism.
I do not mean to denigrate the gravity of an adequate social life. As a student I know that relaxing and enjoying these years is extremely important to our development as adults — not to mention the perpetuation of our sanity. However, there reaches a point when one must put aside the self and pursue the scholastic enrichment unique to small institutions, such as La Verne. “Colleges have their indispensable office — to teach…,” Emerson writes, “Forget this, and our [university] will recede every year in [its] public importance.”
Rick Garcia
Sophomore
