From the Washington Post:
At a Starbucks across the street from Seattle University School of Law, Kirsten Daniels crams for the bar exam. She's armed with color-coded pens, a don't-mess-with-me crease in her brow and what she calls "my comfort latte."
She just graduated summa cum laude , after three years of legal training that left her $115,000 in debt. Part of that debt, which she will take a decade to repay with interest, was run up at Starbucks, where she buys her lattes.
Only the Washington Post could do a story about law schools and discover that the real problem is $3.00 lattes and not $40,000 a year tuition bills. If the WaPo wants to do us a real favor maybe they can do a story about what cash cows and rip-offs law schools are. Students are herded into huge (and cost efficient) lecture halls; the simple fact that all you need to learn law is high-tech gadgets called "books" (which students pay for in any event); law schools taking huge portions of University budgets to first class facilities while other parts of the Univeristy languish.; etc., etc. etc.
But all the Post feels the need to say is, "Holy Mother of God!! These kids are getting extra foam with their coffee!"
Way to take the pulse of your community.
1 comment:
Don't know if you saw the other hard hitting front page story this week. OH MY GOD! People have to juggle all these chargers for their electronic equipment! It's such a pain. We are so put out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801207.html
As my buddy says, "News is what the editor sees on the way to work in the morning." In this case, some editor probably tangled his I-pod charger, blackberry charger, and cell phone charger and thought, hey, now that's a story. Forget Iraq, the murder of black children in the DC metro area, spiraling deficits, Darfur, etc.
You know, I like the Post a lot. The reporting is pretty good and they cover a wide range of issues, and offbeat news topics that other national papers like the NY times don't, and the sports page is pretty good- in fact all the sections are pretty well done. But sometimes I think they go after their yuppie readership way too much.
And of course, besides you're well taken point about law school tuition, the $3 lattes probably pale in comparison to what the average law student spends on booze a week.
Walt
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