> Some other observations. Most of the thin stream of people picking their
> way around the rally were the youngest looking, freshmen, sophmore types.
> That's a pretty good sign, because it means that they are just
> young, probably too worried about their grades, etc. There are tremendous
> academic pressures in the first two years here.
Not just academic. The debt students have to take on these days is utter madness. Hell, I'm one of them. Today I just found out I maxed out my Federal student loans. It wasn't by choice, just sheer necessity. I've been busting my ass to get through, but I had debts from my previous, completely unsaleable degree, and I still have two years to go in my current program.
So no more of that irresponsible spending on debauched life-style choices like basic food, minimal housing, or those three dental fillings which I need to replace real soon. This is how things are going to be for the millions of Americans in the former middle class -- debts of the First World, living standards of the Third.
-- DRR