But That's Just My Opinion

3/22/2019

HOW THE U.S. COLLEGE ADMISSION SCANDAL PLAYS IN TO MILLENNIAL FRUSTRATION

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As a millennial myself, I’ve heard a number of buzz words and phrases aimed at demeaning my generation. Some of those include lazy, entitled, emotional, uneducated, and stupid. But, for the most part, people of my age don’t all fall into that category.

However, the students who are a part of the college admission scandal seems to align well with the buzz words and phrases often applied to a whole group of people.

If you’re in the U.S., you’ve probably heard news lately of the University of Southern California’s high-profile college admissions scandal. If you haven’t, here’s some information:

Fifty people have been charged in federal court for conspiracy to illicitly gain admission for high school students to top colleges and universities, including the University of Southern California. Some notable names tied up in this conspiracy include Lori Loughlin (left), who played Becky on Full House, and Felicity Huffman from Desperate Housewives.

Each of the 50 conspirators paid as much as $6.5 million to get their children into prestigious schools. This money may have been used to purchase a building on campus, donate to university advancement causes, or to bribe professors or administrators.

The 50 were charged of this crime by a U.S. Attorney in the District of Massachusetts, with some scheduled to appear in court on March 29 in Boston.

AN ONGOING PROBLEM

My immediate opinion is that, duh, this has been happening for years. I mean, just look at Hollywood. They’ve made a number of movies where the snobby rich kid’s parents donate to the college, and that makes them near untouchable. Did everyone think that was just a made-up movie antagonist? No, that happens in real life in colleges, universities, and prep schools around the globe.

THIS IS WHY IT ISN'T OK

While more and more people are coming out in support of better and fairer college admissions, money still seemingly rules the world. No one should be admitted into a top school because mommy and daddy have money. Instead, they should get in because they worked hard in class and scored well on college admissions tests.

One thing that really frustrated me was that some of these parents even bribed testing officials to look the other way while their child cheated on the SATs. That isn’t fair to someone from the projects who doesn’t have money but busted their butt in class and in the library to ace the test in hopes of attending Harvard.

But it runs much deeper than an undeserving student getting the spot of one who could have gotten there with their own brain and talent. According to TheAtlantic.com, students who graduate from a top school will earn 12 percent more than their peers who graduated from a standard college or university.

This means that they are likely considered for and offered better jobs. Imagine Loughlin’s daughter becoming some CEO of a large company. She did absolutely nothing to get there, but she is now making decisions on things that could change the course of not only a company, but of the U.S. Many companies are tied up in politics, which is also largely influenced by campaign dollars.

WAYS THE RICH HAVE CHEATED THE SYSTEM

Not only have famous and rich parents paid testing officials to allow their children to cheat on entrance exams, they have also hired writers to write papers for their children, bribed officials to note that their child has special needs that will give them extra time on their tests, and hired the best tutors in the world.

WHY IT FRUSTRATES MILLENNIALS

These kids are the stereotypical millennial. Almost every millennial out there isn’t like this, but these kids give our generation a terrible name. They don’t have to work hard at anything because they get everything handed to them. What is this teaching them? Nothing.

This is the true definition of privilege. The fact that you can take away an opportunity that could have been given to someone who comes from a low-income household is just sick, and I’m glad the political system is doing something about it.

I will say that what adds to millennial frustration is the fact that these people who are our peers become CEOs, sometimes even becoming our bosses. For those of us who went to college, studied in a field that will actually make us money, and joined a career, it is frustrating to have a complete idiot as a boss. They don’t know what they’re doing, and it shows. This frustrates our generation to no end because we can’t move forward in our careers. I’m glad I don’t have this issue personally, but I know that a number of people suffer because of it.

MY OPINION

Colleges are vastly underfunded, which makes their need for financial support desperate. Perhaps if the U.S. political system would favor education and provide a better solution for debt repayment, scholarships, and financial aid, schools wouldn’t be tempted by offers like these.

But, it is crucial that you readers understand that these were top schools. They aren’t really wanting for money, they’re just being greedy.

In my opinion, we should do a sweep of all of the top schools and investigate for fraud. Charges should also be put against others who are found guilty of doing this. Students accused of fraud should be put on academic leave. If it were up to me, schools who accepted these funds should have to pay a penalty, as they were in the wrong as well.

This money should go into underfunded high schools around the U.S. to give those students a better opportunity, especially when their opportunities were ripped away from previous students in earlier years.

CONCLUSION

In closing, I am not a mother. I’m sure that Loughlin was just trying to do all she could for her babies. But giving them everything they want and not teaching them to work for it is a mistake. It is leading our world to a scary place run by idiots who don’t know how to do their job. It is placing unneeded stress on workers who rank lower, which is causing an influx in depression and anxiety.

The U.S. is sad. No promotions. No raises. No praises for a job well done. I think attacking this issue head on will help improve mental health and job security around the country. What’s your opinion? I want to know!

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2/18/2019

SHOULD PARENTS BE BOUND TO A DRESS AND CONDUCT CODE WHEN VISITING THEIR KIDS AT SCHOOL?

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I recently read an article about a Tennessee law maker who is proposing a bill that will tell parents and other adult school visitors how they can dress and conduct themselves when visiting a school.

I am kind of perplexed by this issue, because I see the benefits and the downfalls of it. Let me talk about the pros and cons today. I’d love to hear your opinion on this in the comments below!

THE BENEFIT

According to Antonio Parkinson, the Tennessee representative proposing the bill, several area principals have witnessed parents wearing lingerie and revealing clothing to school to pick up their children.

He also mentioned that several of them also wear shirts with expletives on them, and that many parents will come in to the school and curse teachers, principals, and other school officials in front of the children.

I know that this statement might get me in some hot water with some readers, but I am a fan of modesty. Now, I have no issues with shoulders the collar bone being exposed, I just have never been a fan of seeing someone’s butt cheeks or a ton of their chest. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a large-chested woman. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I expose my cleavage, but I think there is a limit.

I believe that, if you’re going to enforce something on students, it should be expected that those same rules apply to faculty, staff, and visitors. If your school says that students can’t have on clothing that depicts violence, guns, or drug paraphernalia, you should not allow visitors, faculty, or staff to wear them either.

By enforcing these rules on adults, you are showing a pattern of consistency with discipline and the student. A student might see their parent dress or act a certain way at school and think that, since their mom or dad was not reprimanded, they can also get away with it.

THE DOWNFALL

On the other hand, I think that today’s dress code standards are a bit much in many states. Parkinson also mentioned that tattoos should be covered, but I don’t really think that’s fair. I mean, Tennessee gets hot. I would be pretty angry if someone said I couldn’t visit my student because I refused to wear a long-sleeve jacket in the dead of summer.

There is also the matter that adults are adults. While many adults still need correction, most of them have been through the school system and have decided to make their own choices. There is also the problem with shielding children from what they would see in the real world.

MY OVERALL VERDICT

I don’t think it is asking too much to have a parent dress decently and act in a polite manner in front of other children. I do think that this can go too far very quickly. Overall, I’d say that strict rules should be left for private schools, while a fair code of conduct should be observed in public schools.

What do you think? I’m interested in hearing your opinion!

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2/15/2019

MY OPINION ON MILLENNIAL MONEY MYTHS

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If you didn't already see my status update on Twitter, I was recently featured in an article titled "Exposing Millennial Money Myths," by Shelly C. on iThinkFinance.com.

She asked myself and other bloggers and influencers a series of questions based around the financial myths that millennials must work to expose. I wanted to share all of my answers to the myths and, of course, link back to her post.

MYTH 1: ARE MILLENNIALS NOT BUYING HOMES BECAUSE THEY WANT TO SCRIMP OFF THEIR PARENTS?

Because this was the question I answered, I'd be remiss not to link back to Shelly's article. Please click the image to the left to be redirected to the article.

To add more on this, the notion that living off of our parents is the reason many still live at home is crazy. Everyone wants independence, and alleging that we don't simply to have mommy and daddy pay for it is crazy to me!

<-- Click to read!

MYTH 2: MILLENNIALS ARE LAZY, TIRED, AND UNAMBITIOUS

The idea that millennials are lazy is in fact a product of technology.

I will admit that I do notice more and more young people don't play outside and I notice many parents who are my age tend to sit their children in front of the TV instead of give them dolls to play with.

Technology puts the answers to our questions at the tip of our fingertips, which can be good. Our access to technology has changed our behavior, of course. It has made life much easier.

Because of our technology use, we do redefine productivity. I'll give an example. I recently decided to purchase an Amazon Echo Dot and some smart plugs. I can get ready in the morning while telling Alexa to make my coffee. As soon as I'm ready, I just have to pour myself a cup and head to work. I still have to do some work by pre-loading the coffee grinds and water, but it makes my morning much faster!

MYTH 3: MILLENNIALS ARE KILLING THE ECONOMY

No, quite the opposite. The economy is killing millennials, for sure. Prices continue to rise and employers don't just fancy a college degree anymore. We have a record number of graduates in the world today because we were told that degrees get you jobs. However, we are made to put ourselves into massive amounts of debt only to come out and work for companies that are also struggling in the economy and aren't able to reward good work with raises or better benefits.

CONCLUSION

Please don't forget to go check out the full article at www.iThinkFinance.com/exposing-millennial-money-myths and go follow @iThinkFinance on Twitter!

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