OT: LSU President drafting bankruptcy plan
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/lsu_academic_bankruptcy…
I'm not sure how much of this is political brinksmanship but it would seem like a poor time to suggect to your future student body that there may not be a fall semester.
Doesn't matter who the governor is or what party, no university leader should automatically assume that the state's coffers will be open to them. As much as we throw around the term "state school," our states have little involvement in universities except to grant them money in order to supplement tuition costs.
The problem that universities have is many of their programs and degrees do not pay well enough for the student to pay off their debt in a small period of time. Potential students are now wising up to this fact. I don't want anyone to have a 100k student loan on top of living expenses all the while fighting to earn a job that pays 40-50k. I would advise any student, if your loan can't be paid back in five years then don't borrow the money. Once you are in your late 20s and early 30s you start to take on other debt.
Most of us would agree that tuition costs have been grossly inflated for quite some time. Eventually the bubble will burst which is how I perceive the issue. I think this is only the start of that bubble bursting.
Uh oh, I took on 75k in student loans, make less than 50k, am 4 years out from college and just got a mortgage. And I still have 50k in student loans.
I guess I'm fucked for life.
Students loans, like any other debt, can be a great investment if you aren't stupid and you work hard. I may be paying my student loans off for a total of 10-15 years, but I'm the first in my family to get a bachelor's degree (and master's), my job doesn't pay a ton but I love it, I live in one of my favorite towns in the world, and I just bought a condo. Life ain't bad despite taking out 75k in loans to have a job that will never come close to 100k per year.
Financial advice to college students: Just don't feel the need to keep up with the joneses and you'll be fine.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
Interesting that they may try to coordinate this for all the public universities in the state. I wouldn't have thought LSU particularly cared about UL-Lafayette or UL-Monroe's stability.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
That move seems designed to put pressure on the legislature to come up with a funding solution. A state's entire university system essentially declaring bankruptcy would cause massive political fallout. Statewide and nationally.
Nice university system ya got there. Be a real shame if something happened to it.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
Crazy. If I'm googleing the right numbers, the athletic department revenue is around 20-25% of the university's revenue.
percentage for football.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203513604577143250385056524
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
their stadium needs a giant noodle in front of it.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
F. King A. man. F. King A.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
+1 I see what you did there. My own twist on that:
Sofa - King - We - Todd - Did!
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
LSU's president's name is F. King Alexander? Do U C what I see when looking at that name?
Apparently his first name is Fieldon.
His mom was from Paint Lick, Kentucky.
I could go on.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
that's the first chuckle I've had all morning.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
Man, Bobby Jindal has completely run that state into the ground.
Please note that this is a comment on performance, much like I would say that a football player had a bad game, not a comment on his affiliations.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
is his real name. I wonder why he uses "Bobby" instead? Much like Nimrata Haley, the current Governor of South Carolina.
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
Like how Barak "Hussein" Obama used to go by Bobby as well?
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:32 PM ^
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
Cool our President shares a middle name with with an Iraqi dictator. What's your point?
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^
and the key point was, USED TO. He stopped using that nickname years ago. And never used it in his political career.
And how is his middle name relevant? Oh, never mind, we both know why you mentioned it.
One last thing, his name is spelled Barack. And he has been the POTUS for 6 years now.
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^
It is easier to adopt an American name.
My Dad goes by "Ike".
Asian, Indian, African, and Eastern European folks know what I'm talking about.
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
You really have to ask that question?
Isn't it obvious? No Indian expects white people to ever pronounce their name properly. So no fucking shit they're gonna use nicknames if they plan on having political careers in this country.
Then you got the conversions to Christianity to make it seem like we're more "American" to appease the public. smh.
but people learned to pronounce Barack just fine.
The nicknames have a lot more to do with grography and political affiliation than they do with anything else. Nikki Haley sounds like a white christian. Nimrata? Check her green card.
I was referring more to Bobby Jindal. I know plenty of Indians who give their kids American names or change/shorten their names to assimilate when they get to America in the case of Haley. (not saying that is the reason, but wouldn't be surprised, Nikki & Bobby are used as Indian nicknames every once in awhile too)
Personally, I find it dumb and think one should be proud of their name and heritage, but I can see why people choose random American nicknames after going through K-College here myself.
People are stupid and I won't give white America the benefit of the doubt. Just look at HarbaughtoMichigan's comment regarding a middle name. You got ignoramuses everywhere.
Better to just have an American name than having political rivals/xenophobes call you a Muslim terrorist all day even when you may be from a completely different religion/country.
But I digress..
same side here. My first name is American, but no one can pronounce my last name, and that's after it was Americanized.
I guess my point was if they were in a different part of the country, or dare I say, looking for the votes from a different political party, they woudn't have to use the nicknames.
In SE Michigan, we know that everyone named Sam is really Samir. Same thing with Moe.
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
To think he was a potential Republican Presidential candidate at one point lol. I kinda had hopes for him being Indian myself for a sense of pride thing...
Jindal and Nikki Haley ugh...
Your opinion of performance is based on your politics.
Have you seen LA's budget/finances lately?
I think both Repubs and Dems can agree that it is a disaster.
i just don't want politics on this board period
+ infinity.
Plus, blanket statements such as what @sundaybluedysunday made are complete garbage. Take that shit somewhere lese.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:29 AM ^
LSU's bankruptcy will cause them to cut their football program. All "student" athletes will be immediately sucked up by the caring football coaches of the other SEC schools. A jobless Les Miles will then be hired by michigan as head of the stadium grounds crew.
/s
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
How great would Michigan Satdium tour guide and head usher Les Miles be?
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:29 AM ^
..Harbaugh can get some of LSU's commits or recruits? Or that Leonard Fournette will transfer to Michigan and eligible to play immediately?
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:57 AM ^
I've actually been looking into getting EU citizenship as a back-up plan. My son is 3 and I'm terrified when I think about what the world is going to look like when he's my age.
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:54 PM ^
Interesting. I'm eligible for Polish citizenship as a 1st generation American. A lot of countries are like that. If one parent was born there, their kids can get citizenship as adults if they want it. And with the EU being in effect, citizenship to one is as good as any other.
/Germany isn't really an option for folks with a family tree (or lack thereof) like mine.
I did part of my MBA in France and noticed many of the free colleges in the EU aren't generally looked upon favorably. Kinda like our U of Phoenixes stateside. Those who are serious about college generally go to tuition based colleges. Those who aren't serious about growing up squeeze four more years out of free education to fuck around.
Socialism isn't all it's cracked up to be.
One of my last days in France the school I was at had ambulances all over campus. I asked one of the staff what was going on. It was interview day. Kids had password their written admission exams and had to give an oral examination to a board. I guess it's so stressful they have paramedics on standby. 10,000 kids apply -- 600 get accepted.
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^
In some ways, GOOD. Universities have come to think of themselves as some sort of nanny-state day cares for "maturing" students. Give us classrooms and teachers and let the rest work it out. Let the priate sector take care of the over-priced gyms, over-priced cafeterias, over-priced dorms, healthcare, over-priced "counseling", etc. WHAT CAUSES TUITION TO BE $20,000!?
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
April 23rd, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
My generation is going to have a fun time when the student loan bubble pops. Yay!
We can blame the devaluing of trade schools in this country for that. Instead of becoming useful blue collar business owners, we got a surplus of liberal arts majors with no jobs and massive debt coming out of college these days.
But hey at least they followed their dreams right?
I read the other day that nationally unemployment of people with college degrees is down to 2.8% or something like that. Below 3%. That's good. I agree that getting the right degree and taking the right path for you is important too, but there is real value in the degree when it comes to employment. People need to assess the cost vs. pay for the job field they'd like to be in.
But that's the problem.
I know tons of smart and get things done people who don't have a 4 year degree and tons of people with 4 year degrees who are loads that should have been swallowed.
What you and @mackbru write about regarding a degree helps you with getting a job is correct. What some us are saying the carte blanche notion that 4 year degree = hire-able is completely wrong!
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Then you have to differentiate the useful 4-year college degrees from the not so useful ones.
Engineering, hard science, finance, pre-law (maybe if you're T14 quality) will be useful... vs. say... Philosophy (there are only so many well paying philosophy departments in America)
This point tends to get carried too far. No reasonable idea of usefulness would reduce to immediate and specific vocational preparation. Case in point: the training that a good student receives in a good philosophy department (cultivating, namely, the ability to think precisely and to manage complex ideas) can be of enormous value, both in a variety of employment contexts and in the general practice of citizenship.
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
in the meantime...how does this affect Nasier Upshur's top 13? Or should I say 12?
April 23rd, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
but I won't make a political statement on it because the topic is too complicated for me to really understand it...if anything I'd like to get a comment from anyone who has read it/does read it to tell me how far off or close this article is to making an interesting point.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/opinion/sunday/the-real-reason-col…