The Importance of Community College

by Ashley Vang, Asian News USA Staff  

  Swoosh phones beep as an incoming email arrives in the inbox.  This email could potentially be one of the most important received in life thus far.  A college admission decision.  Breaths are held and hearts drop as many high school students hurry to their phones to check the status of their admissions.  Rapidly opening the email, either the words "Congratulations" or "We regret to inform you..." instantly jump off the screen.  These acceptances and rejections determine the future of many.

  Going to college is a path to obtaining higher education which can increase job opportunities as well as pay. Generally, when people think of college the idea of a traditional four-year university comes in mind. These universities can either be public or private and many full-time students attend them with the goal of achieving a bachelor’s degree within four years. Some schools also offer masters programs and doctoral programs which would then require additional schooling. There is also the choice to attend a community college which is a smaller two-year institution that provides classes, associate degrees, and services. However, the thought of community college always tends to be the last option anyone would consider. 

  Community colleges are predominantly stigmatized or, disapproved of, by society. The disapproval of community college usually comes from what is constantly told to students and society of what an acceptable route after high school is. This message that community college is the worst place to go for an education is consistently expressed and circulated, it even occurs in popular animated children movies such as The Boss Baby. Tim, a young child in the movie, tells the boss baby, his little brother, to “Say something mean” in which he replies, “So you went to a community college is it? And you have the guts to ask me for a bonus now?” (McGrath). At a young age, children are exposed to this preconceived notion about the worth of community college and although they may not fully understand it the degrading of community college is present. However, in reality, any route taken is respectable whether it is going to a four-year university, trade school, going straight to the workforce after high school, enlisting in the army, and even community college. Community college is constantly being denounced and classified as a last choice when it has much more to offer than what is seen and said. 

  There are many different reasons to go to community college and there are many different reasons that people do go to community college. Community college extends opportunities to everyone yet is constantly bashed. Bashed for being inclusive, bashed for providing “low quality” education, bashed for being a community college. All the services and benefits provided from going to a community college are things that are not really offered or given out anywhere else. From the animated film The Boss Baby when Tim said, “Say something mean” and the baby proceeded to trash talk going to a community college, that is mean (McGrath).  There are so many unknown gems and advantages of going to a community college that most people do not know about. Choosing or attending a community college is no less an option than going to a four-year university and it should be treated as such.

Click here for more information about community colleges :   http://www.losrios.edu/