While attending the Michigan Developmental Education Consortium Conference, I had the pleasure of hearing keynote speaker Consuelo Kickbusch share her story about growing up in a small barrio in Larado, Texas which was called “El Rincon del Diablo;” the Devil’s Den. During her presentation, Kickbusch recounts a climactic moment in her Junior year of high school when students who wanted to attend college were asked to go to the cafeteria and the other students were told to go to the gym. Kickbusch went to the cafeteria. Her friend went to the gym.

Kickbusch’s story is one of an individual who was determined to overcome obstacles to achieve academic success. Her message about how to reach students like her is worth hearing. But what about her friend? How do we reach those individuals who do not have the desire or determination to succeed?

In our role as college professors, there is little—if anything—that we can do for Kickbusch’s friend who went to the gym instead of the cafeteria. Those students have been lost before we have the opportunity to engage them on our campuses. But what about those students who make it campus and still do not have Kickbush’s determination to succeed?

After Kickbush’s presentation, I spoke to an MDEC collegue whose son once told her that he had done enough to pass one of his college courses and, therefore, he did not have to attend any more of the class; a class for which he was paying approximately $500 per credit hour. Unlike Kickbush’s friend, my colleague’s son came from a privileged background which provided him with the academic and social basis for success. Yet he chose not to succeed.

A few days before the MDEC conference, a meme produced by the National Pro-Life Alliance titled “Abortion Logic 101” was posted by a friend in Facebook. The meme quoted then Senator Obama’s comment that “If [my daughters] make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.” In response, I posted a link to “NBC’s Guthrie Falsely Suggested Obama’s “Punished with Baby” Comment Was About Abortion.” The troubling part of the exchange came next when a critic commented, “That makes no sense. I remember when he said this and it was in the context of abortion.”

My critic did not want her worldview challenged and, I speculate, did not even read the link that included Obama’s words in their context. Nor does it seem likely that she did any additional research to verify the veracity of the article I cited. All that was important for her was that the meme supported her political bias and confirmed her memory.

What is especially tragic about her claim that verifiable data makes no sense is that to concede that this particular quotation is not about abortion does not threaten her worldview. President Obama is pro-choice; a verifiable fact that is not contradicted by accepting that “Abortion Logic 101” and some commentary after the Senator made his comments in 2008 are misleading.

At Schoolcraft College, our mission is “to provide a transformative learning experience designed to increase the capacity of individuals and groups to achieve intellectual, social, and economic goals.” Unfortunately, being open to a transformative experience threatens the status quo and too many individuals are not prepared to take the risks and responsibilities for improving their lives.

While it might be too much to expect a high school Junior from El Rincon del Diablo to summon up the courage to go to the cafeteria without support from others, there is little excuse for a college student who strives for mediocrity. Encountering an adult who cannot make sense of accurate information that is inconsistent with her preconceived notions is sad because, in spite of her affluence, she has chosen to live in the Devil’s Den of ignorance.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Photo Caption: Consuelo Kickbusch