Hello from Duquesne University,
Students have been significant for the great majority of my life, perhaps 80% of my existence had been directly involved with being, helping or being assisted , directing, teaching or being taught, professing or participating in that relationship in some manner. Regardless which side of the equation I was on, change was occurring. Certainly, cliches like life-long-learner, procrastination professional, coffee professional, assertions like the best years of your life, the idea that college is an never-ending toga party or as I warned my freshman against using the following equation as their college foundation: alcohol + testosterone = dumbass (which, btw, is meant to be gender inclusive). The most significant difference between today and when I graduated over a half decade ago is first, our thoughts about attending college (e.g. 46.6% of high school seniors enrolled immediately into college compared to 63% in 2026) as well as the cost (e.g. total cost per year was approximately 9,300.00 for public education and 18,600 for private in 1973 versus 28,000-31,000 for public to 61,000 for private in 2026). If I thought college was out of reach for me in 1973, how many people believe, in spite of being told college is now necessary, cannot imagine how they will afford it, and is their ROI reasonable? The difference in half century is stunning. And I do see and hear backlash. The ability to go to a community college or a technical school for a fraction the cost is more than worth consideration. Both of father and my brother were electricians and members of IBEW Local 231. My father worked hard, as well as sometimes more than 40 hours per week, but we had a very reasonable life. I believe we are at the point where how we understand both the classroom and the world is quite different than it was when I left the K-12 world in the Spring of 1973.
I do believe my return seriously decide college was my path toward a more fulfilling life (which was six years after high school graduation) was a good decision. While choosing to attended a private liberal arts college was nothing specifically researched or examined, I believe it is one of the wisest choices ever made. I can still say that without hesitation some 48 years later. I had little idea that school of perhaps 1.000 students would house one of the most phenomenal programs in the country. I did not begin to fathom that my advisors were profound scholars in their own rite, nor that many of the professors across the curriculum at Dana were both scholars and incredible humans, and we were standing among them or sitting in front of them daily. Their example of professionalism, intellectualism, and simple goodness has served me as a model to this day. The honor we have to stand in front of a group of young adults is immeasurable. It is awe creating.
As noted in the prologue, I began this post sitting at a table while visiting Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I was asked to accompany the Commonwealth-Bloomsburg Debate and Forensics Team to a tournament of 6 schools. The team is young, with a number of freshmen; it was also the first tournament of the year. While the same can be said for all the schools, in terms of the first tournament, I am not sure if the same holds for experience. There were larger schools there, including a Big Ten university. This young and inexperienced team took first place by some 40 points. We had a seriously good-sized team entered, but there were a number of first and second place awards, and that speaks volumes. And there is some significant work to do in a couple of areas. However, when I look at the group of students on the team, I observed a couple of important things for such a young group. First, and I have been working with and traveling with teams for almost a decade, I believe this young group was the most responsible and respectful group I’ve ever met. I think they might have the greatest potential of any team I’ve experienced; and I witnessed hard work and a depth of thoughtfulness I’ve seldom felt in the past.
If you have little exposure or have not been around those who are willing to take such significant time out of their busy schedules to participate in Debate and Forensics, I encourage you to look for it in your area high school, college, or university. They are good communicators; they are much better critical thinkers, and they often establish a camaraderie amongst their teammates that rivals the more popular team sports or groups. Their level of thought and their attention toward the world around them is exactly what we need from young adults today. They are able to integrate and synthesize in a way most fail to do. Integration and synthesis is something I learned as a student at Dana College, though I was probably unaware it was happening. From our Liberal Arts Reading Program (LARP) to the humanities sequence, it was impossible to not see connections and to understand their significance. Our world is complex, and I do not believe that AI is going to change that reality; in fact, unless we learn to understand and accept the profound differences AI will create (or already has), I believe we will find ourselves wondering what happened.
The students I met over the weekend are attempting to navigate a world we handed them, a world that is divided, a world that is increasingly competitive and suspicious of the other. We have left them a world where our consumption has outpaced the world’s ability to replenish itself. We have used both resources and technology in a manner that seldom considered the consequence. What working in the academy taught me was accountability, to my colleagues, to my university, but most importantly, to my students. I often told them I had an attendance policy because I was selfish. When they missed class both their classmates and I lost out on their unique perspective, what they might offer. Certainly, I hoped my classmates was worth their time, and their investment (including the money paid out). What the weekend tournament reminded me of so clearly is how amazing they are, how blessed I was by those before them, and how yet today, there is hope for our world. I believe we are all called to make a difference and leave the world better than we found it. I believe the 15 students I traveled with this past weekend are doing that as were the other students in the tournament.
Thank you as always for reaching.
Michael
