Topic: College Students

The Department of Education announced $5.8 billion in full student loan discharges for 560,000 borrowers who attended the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges. The move is seen as a political win for Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously sued the for-profit chain as California's Attorney General. Critics of the Vice President suggest her public speaking style and repetitive rhetoric may be indicative of a lack of preparation or other factors.

Hampshire College in Massachusetts is facing potential closure or merger due to financial instability, leading to a weeks-long sit-in by students in the president's office. The students are demanding transparency and a system that "listens" to them, while the school has stopped admitting new freshmen. The situation is compared to the unrest at Evergreen State College, where student activism clashed with institutional management.

A PubMed study analyzed the sexual behavior of 24,000 undergraduate students who identify as heterosexual but engage in same-sex hookups. The research found that 25% of women and 12% of men had participated in such encounters, often as a form of private experimentation.

A critique of the collegiate sports system highlights the exploitation of football players who generate significant revenue for universities but often receive inadequate educations. Reports suggest that many athletes in high-profile programs graduate with "bogus degrees" while suffering long-term physical injuries. The discussion advocates for the professionalization of college sports to ensure players are fairly compensated for their labor.

Newt Gingrich provides an analysis of the shooting, characterizing it as part of a pattern of increasing intensity and hostility from the political left. He cites reports of college students facing death threats for supporting Donald Trump. Gingrich argues that this climate has been building since election night 2016.

A discussion on gendered language covers the replacement of "guys" with "folks" or "y'all" and "manpower" with "workforce." An anecdote is shared about an editor at PC World rejecting the word "representative" as sexist, insisting on "spokesperson" instead. The hosts conclude that these linguistic trends reflect a broader marginalization of straight white males on college campuses.

The Washington Post reports on a push for mandatory mental health screening and treatment on college campuses as a public health approach to suicide prevention. The hosts express concern that this will lead to the over-diagnosis of an entire generation, resulting in increased prescriptions for drugs like Adderall and Vyvanse. They argue this system could eventually be used to strip individuals of their rights based on "mental hygiene" criteria.

The hosts discuss the "cry bully" phenomenon at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Students issued a list of demands to President Barry Glassner, including a formal apology for his absence during a racial incident and an admission that the college was built on "stolen land." The hosts trace the controversy back to a private joke between two friends that was reported as a hate crime.

A discussion on the radicalization of millennials links high youth unemployment to susceptibility to extremist propaganda. The hosts reference a Washington Post article about college students battling free speech, citing Pew Research data showing millennials are more likely to support government censorship of offensive comments. They also mention the "Revenge of the Coddled" and the fears of liberal professors regarding student sensitivity.

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation for National College Application Month, framing a college degree as the "surest ticket to the middle class." The hosts criticize this rhetoric, arguing that it leads to financial slavery through massive student debt. They reference the "military-industrial-academic complex" and a previous Obama statement about "just getting by" being the American dream.

Over 1,200 students have joined a debt strike, refusing to pay back loans used to attend the for-profit Corinthian College system. The school system has been sued by the federal government for predatory lending practices. The strikers are demanding that the Department of Education cancel their debts entirely.

A report from Northern California highlights a surge in ACL surgeries among young soccer players who overexert themselves in hopes of securing college scholarships. This "Hunger Games" of youth sports is linked to the rising cost of tuition and the student loan crisis. Families feel forced to risk physical injury because they cannot otherwise afford the jacking up of university prices.

President Obama's campaign to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling is characterized as a scam. The hosts argue that the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act already established these rates and that the current political theater is about making debt more accessible rather than making tuition more affordable.

Citing a report by John Stossel, the hosts discuss the 750% increase in college tuition over the last 30 years, which far outpaces general inflation and healthcare costs. They argue that government aid and student loan programs have incentivized universities to gouge students. The hosts jokingly propose starting their own "Curry Dvorak College" to offer an alternative.

A donor from UC Davis credits the show's "bullshit filter" for helping him navigate social life on campus. The hosts discuss the value of their perspective on international events like the Syrian conflict in an academic environment.

Total student loan debt in the United States has surpassed $1 trillion, exceeding total credit card debt. The hosts discuss how bankruptcy laws have been changed to prevent the discharge of student loans, creating a permanent debt class. They note that many young people are staying in school indefinitely to defer payments while working untaxed side jobs.

A new cultural meme discourages higher education, highlighted by Peter Thiel's program paying students to drop out of college. The hosts discuss the rising cost of tuition, the burden of student loans, and the potential "dumbing down" of the American workforce.

The crowds cheering outside the White House are described as "human resources" and compared to high school football fans. The hosts argue that for college students who grew up in the shadow of 9-11, Bin Laden represented a literal "boogeyman." Fox News is accused of looping footage of the celebrations to make the crowd appear larger and more continuous.

The U.S. House of Representatives passes Resolution 1353, designating a month to raise awareness for student financial aid. The hosts criticize the move as a way to encourage young people to take on massive debt for increasingly expensive degrees. They argue that despite various "cost reduction" acts, the actual price of higher education continues to rise rapidly.

The U6 unemployment rate, which includes underemployed and discouraged workers, shows a slight increase despite official job growth reports. Discussion focuses on the plight of recent college graduates who are struggling with high debt and low-paying jobs. The hosts clarify that "small business" is often misdefined by the IRS and that government aid rarely reaches the mom-and-pop shops with fewer than 25 employees.