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by Walter Brasch
Some people foolishly believe the purpose of a college education is to further one's education. To explore new cultures and views. Perhaps to help make a difference in the world.
They, of course, are wrong.
The purpose of going to college is to party, make contacts, and get a job.
Sometimes the job is as a shift manager at a fast food restaurant.
Sometimes it's as a professional athlete.
March Madness, the nation's annual tribute to tall teenagers who can dunk a basketball, is now over.
A few of the starters will become professional basketball players this year; some in the next year or the year after that.
The University of Kentucky and Duke University, among a few other Division I powers, in the spirit of getting students jobs, have changed their mottos to "One and Done."
That means they recruit the best high school basketball players. They train them. They give them national exposure. And they get them ready to get a job after only one year in college.
That job pays an average of $4 million a year.
That's 10 times what the president of the United States earns, and about 100 times what a social worker or firefighter earn.
Obviously, reverse layups and 30-foot three-pointers are more valuable to society than helping the poor or rescuing people.
Division I basketball powers may claim they exist to provide new experiences for all their students. This is just a PR whitewash.
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