College Life: An Obituary

"Collegiate Life: An Obituary" by Dr. Arthur Levine was a very controversial and sometimes negative essay. I did, however, enjoy reading it. I liked how it showed the viewpoint from someone who is not in college today and I think that caused a lot of conversation about it. Being in college in this day myself, I thought that some of his essay held truth whereas other parts of it were ridiculous. When Dr. Arthur Levine says that college student today are only attending college to get a job rather than to learn, it came off as a negative statement. I thought that although he was correct in most cases, this didn't have to be a negative thing. Personally, I'm going to college because it's important for my future and getting a job. I think that some people aren't willing to admit it, but I really don't see it as something to be ashamed of because I don't see it as a negative. Other comments that Levine made about college students today, however, I found to be completely false. He makes a remark that "dating" is totally dead and basically referred to all college students as friends with benefits. Although some people may choose to live their lives that way, I know that many people do not and "dating" is not gone. Levine made other comments like this that I found rather offensive. Most of the comments seemed extremely stereotypical and I didn't like how the author grouped ALL college students into one group. Also, I thought the title was dramatic. It suggest that college life is over and should be considered "dead". Just because something is different and today many students go to school for different reasons, it shouldn't be looked at in such a negative light. Overall, I really did like reading this essay because I enjoy arguing over topics and controversial issues such as this. These types of writings spark great conversations and I enjoyed talking about it in class.