Students responsible for their own debt

In his Saturday letter to the Review-Journal, Carlos Hernandez suggested that we can “no longer ignore this growing problem,” referring to the current $1.3 trillion student loan debt. He feels that tuition is too high and that the government should propose reforms to reduce the cost and promote access to higher education for all students regardless of their income levels.

Lets look at the real facts of higher education in this country.

First of all, the average student has about $35,000 in debt when he graduates from college. In today’s economy, that is about the average price of a car that is paid off in five years. The average college graduate makes a much higher salary than a high school graduate and should be able to pay off that debt. It is the responsibility of the student — not the taxpayer — to pay his debt. The student should consider all of these financial factors before he takes out a student loan.

For low-income students, may I suggest that you attend community college for the first two years. The cost is low. Then complete the last two years at either a public or private college, depending on what you can afford. You should also work part time as you go to college and live at home if the school is nearby. I graduated in 1979 using this formula and started off my career with little debt.

Mr. Hernandez and members of his generation should learn now that when you get out into the real world, there is no free lunch. The taxpayer paid for your education through the high school level. No one sees access to a higher education as a handout but it is the sole responsibility of the student to pay for it. Now it is your turn to make a success of yourself on your own. That is what is called growing up.

Michael O. Kreps

Las Vegas

Shis and shim

Your Sept. 3 editorial “Looking for A-A-Ron” was excellent. As a retired educator, I made it my business to learn student names, their pronunciation, and nicknames as soon as possible, using appropriate seating plans.

The English language is either sexist or awkward regarding “he/she” situations, especially in generalizations. Some people are using relatively new English third-person singular pronouns to remedy this problem. Use of “E” replaces the clumsy “he/she” and “shis” may represent “his/her.” Likewise, “shim” takes the place of “her/him.” All are intuitively clear to the reader and simplify the language greatly while overcoming the awkwardness and the sexism of using the masculine in all cases.

I hope that the Review-Journal will adopt these conventions.

Joel Berg

Henderson

Bait and switch

State Sen. Pat Spearman’s Sept. 4 commentary, “Why early voting is crucial for Nevadans,” ran with a misleading headline. It was a pitch by a Democrat operative to vote against Donald Trump and for Hillary Clinton. The second, third and last paragraph mentioned early voting, but that was mostly obscured with political talking points.

One example of the political talking points was Sen. Spearman’s reference to Donald Trump as one who has “expressed disdain and disregard for the communities that have been treated as second-class citizens for generations.”

While Mr. Trump has expressed a need to raise all demographics economically and otherwise, he has made it clear that he is a law-and-order candidate and will not tolerate the violence that permeates communities across the country, minority or otherwise. He has expressed no disdain toward African-Americans, Latinos nor any other ethnic community. He has expressed disdain for those who enter this country from all parts of the world through the porous southern border who are rapists, drug dealers, murders and more.

His words have been twisted and turned and now appear in a mislabeled op-ed as a bait and switch by a Democrat partisan.

Alan Stock

Las Vegas