Private University or Trade school?

[jp1]

tldr

think I am figuring out who the conservatives are too.

yep, make sure we are white and privileged and hate losers

Damn, so you do have self awareness? Color me ashamed for claiming otherwise.

[Jmustang1968]

think I am figuring out who the conservatives are too.

yep, make sure we are white and privileged and hate losers

Damn, so you do have self awareness? Color me ashamed for claiming otherwise.

I sit upon my pile of riches and look for the news articles of the misfortune of the poor and destitute and laugh while having a caviar treat from only the most endangered of fish. When I tire of that, I will go have a swim in my vault of money.

[jp1]

Isn't that a quote from Robin Leach?
^Joke

Seriously though, I must have struck a nerve. Sorry if I offended, yours weren't the posts I was after.
^Not a Joke

That is my last attempt...you conservatives need to learn to forgive.
^Joke

[ZeroAX]

I'm actually conservative too.....by European standards

[JsGameRoom]

I will go have a swim in my vault of money.

[Blu]

Seriously though, there needs to be a few things cleared up:

1. I work with a lot of students who come from underprivileged backgrounds on a campus where there is both a lot of white privilege and socioeconomic privilege. The institution is one of top 20 in the world. The assumption that you can pay for college all on your own through financial aid packages or by working a job is largely a myth. Yes there is financial aid available, but in most cases it won't' cover every expense.

Even at the previous institution where I went to school at and later worked financial aid still didn't cover everything, especially when it was handed out quite freely before the recession hit. You had students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and ways they handled money. I'd still wager that I saw plenty of students who just couldn't scrape by to make ends meet, and they were still living well within their means.


My point is, just consider the possibility that there isn't an equity when it comes to accessing college. Sure, you try and obtain the GPA, you take the AP tests, you score well on the SAT/ACT. All three of those qualifying criteria are all influenced by one's social identity and the circumstances of where they come from. Consider ever so slightly that minorities and underprivileged populations often don't have the same access to resources that you do.

Say you woke up one day and the world was exactly the same, but you had travelled 18-20 years back in time. You realized that you were in a poorer neighborhood, your gender, your sex, your sexuality/attractionality and/or the color of your skin had all changed, is it a possibility that you'd still land where you are now? That's all I'm saying when you try and foster some empathy for people who are different than you.

2. Let's just name that the US' largest employer allegedly costs the public on average 900,000 - 1.5M per store through public assistance, medicare, and subsidized housing. From what I gather from most of the posts in this thread, and elsewhere when it's been disclosed from others, that this forum has a number of fairly affluent members. That's not a problem, because you all worked hard in school and specialized in educations where there was a significant payoff. In Js' case, he allegedly risked dying out on the oil rigs by scrubbing toilets and wrasslin' hoses.

I mean this is a forum for an interest that requires a certain bit of disposable income to take part in. I don't think it's fair for assumptions to be made for someone that is on public assistance or subsidized housing. I've seen both and it's hardly the glamorous lifestyle that people are stating it is.

[dsheinem]

This is a forum for an interest that requires a certain bit of disposable income to take part in.

That's an interesting point, but maybe for reasons beyond what you suggest.

I think a lot of people (myself included) initially get into retrogaming in part because of the possibility of a cheaper mode of enjoying video games (I was in grad school when I started formally collecting). You certainly CAN spend a lot on retro games, but you can also spend the same $60 you'd spend for one new AAA release and get an old system and 5-10+ common, classic games for the same price. Either way video games are something that is enjoyed with 'disposable income"...but I think we also have a lot of members who are in the hobby, in part, because it is a more affordable way to enjoy playing/discovering/discussing video games than it would be to keep up with the more mainstream discussion around new releases.

Of course I'm no longer a graduate student and I've gone down the rabbit hole of pricey games, but I think this is a hobby that really attracts both ends of the economic scale.

[Blu]

I mean I definitely understand where you're coming from and that yes retro gaming is still fairly cheap compared to current-gen and AAA titles. I'd say a fair amount of our members still dabble in current-gen stuff as well, and there's more vast collections on the game room sub-forum than humble collections. So I agree, it can attract all on a spectrum.

[Jmustang1968]

I grew up poor, so I've been there, done that.

[Blu]

Right, but you haven't grown up as someone who was either non-white, LGBTQ, woman, international, etc and henceforth can't speak in generalizations as to what those peoples' experiences must be like. I surely don't think that you're speaking on behalf of everyone that has posted such generalizations, but I don't know why you're continuing to go on. Surely your experiences as someone who was poor might have fostered some empathy as to what a struggle is like for others from different identities.

Yes, there are always people that take advantage of the system. No, education is not equitably accessible by all.

https://www.isr.umich.edu/home/diversit ... vilege.pdf