Sunday, June 12, 2005
The graduates of 9/11
Good news in this graduation season. Twelve percent of the graduating class at Yale, 12% at Spelman College, 10% at Harvard, 9% at Princeton and Dartmouth, applied for the Teach for America volunteer service program. Seventeen thousand applicants for 3500 slots. The kids are really all right.
Indeed. This is the class that watched the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the first weeks of their freshman year. Whether in deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan or in the schools of our inner cities, this generation is showing a commitment to service -- as opposed to activism and dissent -- that we have not seen in perhaps sixty years. The babies of the early 1980s will provide the core of America's leadership class when they come of age. Check back about 2025 and see who is running the country.
2 Comments:
By 
Gordon Smith, at
Sun Jun 12, 12:26:00 PM:
National Service Programs ought to receive even more funding as our nation's infrastructure falls further and further behind.
I don't know if a spike in call to service has any demonstrable relation to the events of 9/11. With army recruitment numbers in the toilet, it could be that adults fearful of being tossed into another unnecessary Bush war are seeking a concrete way to manifest their desire to improve our nation and cement the promise of freedom.
It could be that there just aren't many jobs to go around, and this is a great way to get some experience on the old CV.
Whatever the reason, it's imperative that our government see it and suppport it.
By TigerHawk, at
Sun Jun 12, 12:40:00 PM:
There are a ton of jobs to go around, especially for graduates of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth and even Spelman, and none of these schools contribute significantly to military recruitment (to my knowledge). There is definitely something going on among the elite students of this generation.
