Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Uncelebrated college cost driver - the lazy river

Umm. I think the point of the article (and the OP) was to criticize the lazy rivers.

Sushi is fine, provided they aren't spending millions to install golden sushi bars. I remember the stuff we were fed in college, and IMO nutritious food is a good thing (though outsourcing meals to chains doesn't really fit that bill, and I suspect that a lot of the chains offer food that's nutritionally downhill from the cuisine we had in the 80s).

But spending $20 million (Oklahoma State) on a water park when tuition is skyrocketing and student debt is over a trillion dollars? That's outrageous. Are these kids going to college to learn how to think or are they looking for a fun route to certification? Dumb question, right? Studies are showing that college students spend less time studying now than they did a few decades ago and that they're learning less.

IMO, multi-million dollar lazy rivers are a sign of priorities, and learning/expanding horizons/being challenged to think in new ways isn't at the top of that list right now (one could argue that trigger warnings and limitations on free speech bode the opposite).

So, the college-as-certification-via-four-year-vacation movement makes me sad. Yeah, I understand that students need to relax and have fun, but there are ways of relaxing that don't cost millions of dollars.

I hope these students don't end up $30K in debt and working at Starbucks.