What I Learned in College

Posted 3:30 AM by Gerald So

Some pundits say one reason the Democrats lost on Election Day was they were unable to frame their policies to reach workers who see the party as know-it-all elitists. As someone who loved college and went on to be an English teacher, I don't understand the animosity toward education. It's true college changes and matures you, for the better, in my experience.

I grew up around a large, tight-knit extended family. After Catholic elementary school, I was rejected from my first-choice Catholic high school, where my brother was a student, but I chose to attend St Mary's in Manhasset. After that, I felt I had enough of a religious foundation and wanted to meet a wider variety of people.

I attended Hofstra because one of my favorite English teachers was an alum. Hofstra had an Asian American Organization, but I didn't join. I didn't want friendships primarily based on common ethnicity. By contrast, my younger cousin eventually attended Hofstra, too, and became AAO president.

At the start of second semester junior year, I heard about a meeting to explore creating a student literary magazine. I attended and not only saw all kinds of people but befriended many of them, including someone four years younger, who had skipped second and eighth grades. He wore a Detroit Lions cap, so I turned to him and said, "Barry Sanders." It was that easy.

Others at the meeting stood out in their own ways, which is what attracted me. We built the magazine FONT from common interest in writing, welcoming any students to have a say in what was published. Six people who worked on the early magazine remain my best friends today. I was already open, but I learned to be much moreso. I saw how everyone's differences improved the magazine.

I'm massively disappointed America wasn't ready to elect Kamala Harris president. I'm all the more grateful that my college experience lived up to the ideal of diversity. I think college would benefit almost everyone who derides it. It's one of the best and safest ways to open your mind. If you resist opening your mind, ask yourself why. Is what you are now all you ever want to be?