Strapped

Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead, by Tamara Draut (2006)

Draut, a fellow at Dēmos, a New York City-based think tank, describes the challenges facing the age group often referred as Generation X. Her book paints a dismal economic picture for today’s 20- and 30-somethings.

The author describes a debt-for-diploma system that has not only required students to take out large loans but has priced college out of reach for many. The average student now graduates with $20,000 in debt, a figure that rises to $45,000 for those who chose to go to graduate school. This economic reality stands in stark contrast to that of the World War II and Baby Boomer generations, who were more likely to obtain federal grants and graduate with little or no debt.

Today’s generation often accumulates more than student loan debt. Draut describes how deregulation in the credit card industry has led to a new wave of credit offers to those who are younger and less financially secure. The author describes a generation that relies increasingly on credit cards to finance car repairs and other emergency expenses.

Draut describes the phenomenon of dwindling pay for workers in her chapter “Paycheck Paralysis.” With a large percentage of today’s women in the workforce, the author expounds on the fact that it now takes two incomes to reach the major milestones of home ownership and having a child even as these goals could be accomplished with one income forty years ago.

After devoting the first three quarters of her book to describing these economic challenges, Draut explores why this generation doesn’t demand more of their government in helping them live a better life. Former president Ronald Reagan’s influence and his insistence that “government isn’t the solution, it is the problem,” are cited as major reasons that today’s 18 to 34-year-olds are more likely to blame themselves for their shortcomings than to point to failing public policy.

The author often refers to the stereotypes of Generation X as being slackers at the office and as being irresponsible with their money, although she rarely tells her reader from where these criticisms originate. Even so, Draut has told a story that many younger readers will find all too familiar. Although her book is long on describing problems and short on solutions, it is an engaging read. Strongly recommended.

Air Ball

Air Ball: American Education’s Failed Experiment with Elite Athletics, by John R. Gerdy (2006)

Gerdy has seen college athletics from every angle. He played basketball at the college and professional level, and then went on to work as a legislative assistant for the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and as an associate commissioner for the Southeastern Conference.

In Air Ball, his fourth book on American sport, Gerdy doesn’t rehash the scandals that have plagued big-time Division I football and basketball programs. The problems within the current system are well documented and affect institutions at all levels, he says, as he details the many ways the current state of college athletics undermines higher education and the broader community.

The author believes that college athletics too closely mirror the professional game, robbing students of study time as well as a chance to truly integrate with the campus as a whole. The focus on elite sport teams also pushes many to watch sports rather than actively participate at a time when obesity has emerged as one of society’s greatest challenges.

The author proposes a number of specific reforms that are certain to promote heated discussion. Gerdy proposes that game times be pushed up, even when that means that some teams won’t be able to play in prime time. He proposes a limit on eligibility in the freshman year to allow new students the opportunity to focus on academics and to transition to college life. Gerdy’s most drastic measure is the elimination the athletic scholarship. The current arrangement is too close to the professional model of pay for play, he says. This, along with the high costs of travel, coaches’ salaries, and tutors for athletes, undermines the credibility of institutions of higher education.

The author addresses a number of the sacred cows of coaches and athletic directors, among them the assertion by some that reform would lead to a drastic decline in the quality of play. He believes that these concerns are secondary to the issue of determining whether athletics compliment the mission of the university. Gerdy asserts that nothing less than a complete transformation of sports programs will accomplish this. Failing that, they must be abolished altogether.

Informing and provocative, Gerdy’s book should be required reading for educators, college administrators and anyone else who is concerned about the state and role of athletics in higher education. Highly recommended.

Beer and Circus

Beer and Circus, by Murray Sperber (2001)

The author makes a sweeping indictment of higher education in this, his fourth book about college athletics. Sperber argues that large public institutions have become too big to provide a quality education to their charges. The author describes an arms race of college athletics that places a huge emphasis on building strong teams and getting schools placed in prominent athletics conferences. Administrators, he says, pin their hopes on national championships in the hopes that this will lead to increased visibility, and enrollment, for the university.

Not only does this approach rob students of a quality education, says Sperber, but it gambles with taxpayer money as these big programs rarely pay for themselves. Another point in the volume is that the party scene that accompanies these sporting events is very damaging to students. There were plenty of stories in the Indiana Daily Student during my time in Bloomington that highlighted the drinking and partying of students. Nationally, the most high-profile cases have been deaths from alcohol poisoning. The author makes a strong, if evident, case that universities should be providing a good education, rather than a great tailgating experience, to their students.

Originally reviewed 2/11/04

Stay tuned this week for my review of John R. Gerdy's Air Ball: American Education's Failed Experiment With Elite Athletics