Just how important are community colleges in the landscape of higher education in the United States? Well, nearly half of US undergraduates attend a community college; that makes them pretty important. Two community college presidents—Gail Mellow of LaGuardia Community College in New York and DeRionne Pollard of Montgomery College in Maryland—argue in this February 2017 Baltimore Sun article that community colleges are the key to healing the nation and its people.
Read it here: Mellow & Pollard, “Community colleges can heal a divided America”
- Why do Mellow and Pollard believe that community colleges are so vital to the United States? What’s so special about them? Summarize the authors’ argument. Do they make a persuasive case? Why or why not?
- As we know from their essay, Mellow and Pollard are both presidents of community colleges. They devote a full paragraph to describing their personal backgrounds. How important is that information to the argument they’re making? Why do you think so? Would their essay be more effective without that information? Why or why not?
- As Chapter 8 of your text explains, the repetition of key words and phrases is a good device for connecting the parts of your argument. Mellow and Pollard make effective use of this strategy with the word “opportunity.” How does each appearance of the word contribute to the main argument? Do the authors rely too heavily on the word? Why or why not?
- Mellow and Pollard call on “national leaders” to help community colleges “preserve the opportunity for Americans to learn and … build careers”; however, they don’t offer any concrete suggestions about what they’d like these leaders to do. What concrete recommendations would you make for your school and community? Write an essay that details specific programs or improvements that you would like to see. Use Mellow and Pollard’s essay as your They Say, and address the local conditions that you observe in your daily life.
They Say I Blog 
Question 1
In Mellow’s and Pollard’s article, they are arguing that community colleges are great resources for any type of student because they are welcoming to all backgrounds of people, are less expensive than other options, and allow students to work or have other commitments as well. Plus, one of the main points that the authors emphasize is that, “without notice community colleges have become the one place where diverse groups meet in search of a common end: opportunity” (2017). Through my personal experience of taking community college courses while enrolled in high school, I totally agree with this article. Community colleges truly give anyone the type of education they are looking for, and allow for students to work, take other courses, or stay active in the community. To me, the information they are communicating is old news, and I have experienced these things in real life. However, if I were to put myself in the shoes of another high school senior who is deciding which college to go to with little background knowledge about community colleges, I would admit that this article is not persuasive enough for me. The article does a great job at explaining why community college is so great, but it doesn’t discuss specifically what it has better than other 4-year universities or institutions. The authors stress the fact that community colleges are diverse and want success for their students, but I know many other 4-year colleges that say their campuses provide the same thing. I think the most persuasive point the authors make is that community college is less expensive, however, who’s to say that a 4-year college or trade school student couldn’t work for the college or take part in an internship that could help pay tuition. I agree with many of the points in this article, but I think it could be improved by comparing community college to specific institutions or other options.
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Mellow and Pollard states that having community colleges in the country is very vital to the revision of America today. They make a very strong argument that in some ways a community college can be better than a four year university. Most of the time, the reason why students do not go to college is that they could not afford to go. Community college is labeled as a secondary school but can have the same type of education as higher universities. They are also plenty cheaper than universities. Another reason is that the focus in a community is the ability to actually pay attention in a class. Higher colleges and universities can be very laid back and not as serious as a community college. Mellow and Pollard say that the American Dream is no longer possible because of the current reality that society is in and that community colleges can help create the opportunities that America needs. They both make persuasive arguments by saying that community colleges will help build careers to people who would not ordinarily get the chance to.
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This article belief that community colleges are vital to the United States is supported by the fact that community colleges provide more affordable education to all individuals. The authors’ claim that the vitally to the country stems from their openness to everyone; community colleges do not have restrictions on what individuals are allowed to enroll nor are they outrageously expensive so that only upper middle and higher class individuals can attend outside of scholarship offers like many universities. They also allow for students attending to have flexible schedules, so that they can have a job while receiving an education and take only classes specific to their major or skills requirement. Elaborating on these statements to provide statistical evidence really helped the authors to have a more credible and persuasive essay.
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Question 1: Why do Mellow and Pollard believe that community colleges are so vital to the United States? What’s so special about them? Summarize the authors’ argument. Do they make a persuasive case? Why or why not?
Answer: Community colleges in the United States are affordable and more convenient to the students who want a certain certification. Community colleges are able to do the same thing as a University just at a more affordable cost. I definitely agree with Mellow and Pollard on their view of community colleges. They both believe that community colleges can help bridge a gap between the poor and wealthy, the uneducated and educated.
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Mellow and Pollard make the argument that community colleges are able to add
diversity to our country, which they deem to be divided. Their argument of heavy
economic polarization leading to and being based off of xenophobia and racism comes
across as extreme. They say we attend more segregated schools than we did twenty
years ago. When they write blanket statements like that, it is hard to consider it a
successful persuasive argument, without sources or real evidence.
It is interesting that they added the paragraph about their personal stories. They
give anecdotal evidence on how anybody can be a part of a community college, on the
student level as well as the faculty level. They appreciate the “open doors”. It is not
important that they added the personal information because it is not concrete evidence;
it is one example, but of course there are almost always exceptions to the rule. The fact
that they come from diverse backgrounds does not show trends in diversity or how
many colleges have female or minority presidents.
The authors do not rely too heavily on the word “opportunity”. They are using it to
show that they believe that not every American gets the same opportunity. They are not
too repetitive, it does not come across as so, because it is relevant to the topic they are
discussing.
They say that they want “American Leaders”, to help out with students’
opportunities to have a great education and to stay out of debt. We could have a
president who cares about the issue of high tuition rates. Many people are too off put by
how much tuition will cost, that they do not even apply to colleges. There are also
people who leave college with tens of thousands of dollars of debt. We could have a
president who will forgive student debt, because if middle-class people have money,
they will spend it and stimulate the economy. Our president could make college vastly
cheaper, or even free. There is no reason that the majority of Americans cannot vote for
someone who represents these issues that affect young people.
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Mellow and Pollard’s well-worded article about community colleges uses the right word: opportunity. When looking at colleges, in general, the words you want to hear the most is opportunity and success. They used opportunity multiple times when talking about community colleges. They didn’t overuse the word, they just used the word opportunity at the precise times. They believe community colleges are beneficial to America and I agree with them. Without community colleges some who cannot afford a four-year colleges tuition, those individuals would not be able to get further education.
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In the article, Mellow and Pollard make special use of the word “opportunity” to emphasis the importance of community colleges. It is a very effective form of getting the point across to the reader that it is in fact a great “opportunity” available to most people. Community colleges allow people to move further in careers and life which is why opportunity is the perfect word to use.
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I agree with Mellow and Pollard when they describe community colleges as a gateway to healing a divided America. All different people from all types of backgrounds can be found in community colleges. Most have the stigma that only a certain type of people attend, such as students that only come from low income families. However, the authors provided their own personal background which helped to negate that stigma. Community schools are often painted in such a negative light. Society doesn’t often highlight the pros of going to community schools. Starting at a two year school does not make you less successful than someone starting at a four year school. They allow an equal opportunity for everyone to obtain an affordable education.
Community colleges hold opportunities for all types of people to help better their education with half the cost. Colleges can often be expensive and leave students in crippling debt. Community colleges offer the same courses that state schools or universities offer but they are often half the price. This is beneficial to students because they won’t have to take out loan after loan to earn a degree. Community schools are an excellent way for students to raise their GPA in case they want to apply to another school It gives them a chance to either begin their education or correct their past educational mistakes. In addition, the schools are local. It does not require moving or traveling for hours to get an education. You won’t have to change or quit jobs. Community schools are an excellent way to obtain an education while avoiding the heavy price tags that come with college.
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Gail Mellow and Derionne Pollard argue that community colleges help those who are at a disadvantage socially and economically to afford the same opportunities as someone who has money and is not a person of color. They argue that one of the advantages of community colleges is that they give people opportunities to mingle with individuals of all walks of life. This can be beneficial because it can eventually help bridge the gaps and racial disparities. They argued that “We must lead the movement to understand the ‘other’ in all of our communities… as college presidents, we call on our national leaders to work to preserve the opportunity for Americans to learn and train without exorbitant debt, to build careers and work productively with dignity” (Mellow et al.). They are both credible because they each are presidents of community colleges, so they can see from first-hand experience how it can help students to gain knowledge and experience with the racial, economic, and social discrepancies in society. Their article was written well, and I agree with their argument because community college has been a godsend for me; without it, I would have either not gone to college at all, or it would have been much harder for me to get a college education. My grades in high school were subpar, so I may not have got accepted to any colleges if I went straight out of high school. Community college has given me the opportunity to perfect my study habits, save money because the cost is inexpensive enough that my financial aid covers all of it, and I get the opportunity to improve my GPA. Community college is there for individuals who are not on the “traditional” educational path, and it affords them the opportunity to succeed in a career. Mellow and Pollard do an excellent job of bringing this issue to the awareness of others in hopes that there will be action to alleviate and fix the inequalities in our society.
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