Letters to the Editor: Community colleges are a beacon of hope and opportunity for returning students

To the editor: Thank you for the article about community college and California State University graduates being able to out-earn, depending on their major, those who attended universities considered highly prestigious.

As a returning student at age 30, I nervously enrolled at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa. I continued my bachelor’s degree and then my master’s at Cal State San Bernardino. The skills I obtained there allowed me to secure a full-time position as a community college counselor six months after my graduation.

I spent 25 years as a counselor at San Bernardino Valley College and Santa Monica College assisting people whose lives would be forever changed because of the great programs in the CSU and community college systems.

Kathy Flynn, Redlands

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To the editor: It distresses me that the major focus of a college degree is still income. Yes, income is important, but it should not define the value of one’s major.

Unfortunately, states have steadily decreased their portion of funding for public universities over the last few decades, and the result has been exactly what we have today. If students are forced to pay the bill, they’re going to focus on return rather than what they are truly meant to be.

Regardless of major, a college education is meant to enrich a person intellectually and to provide the critical thinking skills that are developed in every major. An educated people are a better people. I hope our states will come to realize this and adjust their education budgets accordingly.

Denise Aubuchon, Moorpark

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To the editor: There’s little question that a degree in ethnic studies will earn you far less than majoring in a field that, say, contributes to developing artificial intelligence.

But this is only one way to assess the value of a person. And Bill Gates, LeBron James and Pablo Picasso could argue that a college education doesn’t necessarily foster wealth or power.

This article, however, reinforces the desperate attempt by the political right to further dumb down America. Banning books, propaganda masquerading as news and the ongoing damage done by social media are targeted at curtailing education and enlightenment.

It’s way past time for us to speak up for our individuality, passions and God-given opportunity to become all we can be.

Hal Rothberg, Calabasas

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To the editor: It should come as no surprise that majoring in computer science at, say, the University of Mississippi will result in a higher-paying job than majoring in gender studies at, say, Harvard.

Yet too many high school seniors continue to buy into the myth about the value of marquee-name colleges.

Walt Gardner, Los Angeles

The writer taught for 28 years in the L.A. Unified School District.