Twitter Tracks Cholera Outbreaks Faster Than Health Authorities

January 9, 2012, 5:03 pm

A health worker in Haiti uses a smartphone to report on a case of cholera.

Getting a jump of two weeks on an infectious disease can mean the difference between life and death, between containment and an epidemic. Now researchers have shown that, for the 2010 cholera epidemic in Haiti, social media like Twitter can track outbreaks as much as two weeks sooner than official health reports, especially when used by people with mobile phones.

“The faster we know where a disease is spreading, the faster we can put in control measures,” said Rumi Chunara, a research fellow at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. “Do we need to vaccinate people? Distribute antibiotics? Clean water?” Ms. Chunara and two colleagues described the public-health advantages of social media in an article published on Monday in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Since cholera began raging across Haiti in 2010, following a devastating earthquake and hurricane, there have been more than 380,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths. The health ministry in Haiti tracked the spread of the epidemic in standard fashion: It sent out health-care workers, collected reports from hospitals, and used the reports to direct resources. Ms. Chunara and her co-workers compared those reports with Twitter feeds that mentioned the word “cholera” during that time, and with reports from a Children’s Hospital project called HealthMap, which identifies disease hot spots through news reports, blogs, and discussion groups that mention the disease.

The social media matched the official reports very closely right at the start of the outbreak, in October 2010, and right after another surge when the hurricane hit, in early November. But the reports were ahead of the official records by two weeks. And with Twitter in particular, they identified the geographic locations of the cases “because a lot of people were Tweeting from their phones, right where they saw patients” in villages, Ms. Chunara said. Not all cholera patients go to hospitals to be counted officially, she noted.

Social media are not a magic bullet for a crisis, however, and that was also evident in Haiti when the earthquake hit. Aid agencies relied on text messages from cellphones and crowd-sourced maps to direct rescue workers. One of those “crisis maps,” called Ushahidi, collected calls for help from across the island and used them to identify areas where the need for help was greatest and most urgent. The approach worked well at many times but not always smoothly: A report on the Haiti experience by the Knight Foundation noted that volunteers and professional aid workers did not share the same operating procedures, which “complicated efforts on the ground.”

So disease trackers now have to show that social media pinpoint disease outbreaks as they are happening, not just in an after-the-fact experiment like this one. The World Health Organization is currently monitoring clusters of yellow fever in Senegal, bird flu in Egypt, and lead poisoning in Nigeria. And malaria epidemics kill more than 100,000 people worldwide every year. So unfortunately there will be no shortage of opportunities for testing the new strategy.

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sand6432

Some university press directors have come from marketing backgrounds, such as Leila Salisbury, who was Marketing Manager at Kentucky before she became Director at Mississippi. My observations, as a former president of the AAUP and director at Penn State University Press, have over more than forty years not revealed any significant differences in the economic performances of presses whether headed by editorial or marketing types. And you should realize that in university press publishing generally, editors have always been highly involved in marketing and know a lot about it. The challenges are greater than ever as presses make the transition from print to electronic publishing, and these affect marketing techniques as much as editorial decisionmaking. It is not an easy time to be a publisher!—Sandy Thatcher
balancement

Said the Bishop, defending his Church.
lkaplan

I agree. It’s like you have a phone interview, they invite you on campus and then poof you never hear from them again. I as the candidate feel like it never happend. I just don’t understand.
minnesotan

If only I could be so picky as to let things like climate or culture dictate where I search for a tenure-track job. Maybe superstars can afford to be ‘fair weather interviewers,’ but the rest of us have to go to Oklahoma, if that’s where the job is.
minnesotan

Oh, and apologies to Oklahomans (? Oklahomians? Oklahomeboys?) . I like the snow and cold for a couple of months a year, so I had to pick a different sort of environment to despise. No reflection on your fair state, except that it’s not my cup of tea. ;)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=614395 Henrietta Jones

While the college president’s response to the parent wasn’t polticially correct, he was keeping it real. Students should be mindful of the potential debt burdern that they may carry after college graduation, especially in this economy. It would be ironic if the student were to have to resort to working at McDonald’s anyway after college graduation to pay off student loans because she couldn’t find anything better.
http://twitter.com/ArgoGator Kelly

Apologies to the mother, but I hope her daughter gets a really great career her first year out of school, because $40,000 in students loans is going to present a very hefty monthly payment. And you cannot get rid of a student loan payment unless you die. No bankruptcy, no settlement for a lesser price. It is ridiculous that we are not doing a better job of warning students about the financial burdens a student loan can place on you upon graduation.

She will be lucky to get a job making $40,000 right out of college, and to already owe that money in student loans is crazy.
rrocket67

I respect the president’s thoughtful response. All tuition-driven colleges want students but not all have the courage or compassion to advise families with limited means to pursue less expensive options. Two-years at a community college followed by transfer admission to SNHU would provide Rory with the same BA degree with half the debt…
cplantin

I, too, had to give up my first choice college as an undergraduate because of money. I still wonder how things would have been different had I gone there, but all is well over 30 years and five degrees later. I’ve also had to forgo my favorite cars, vacations, and houses because I did not have enough money — but that is part of life.
jring61

I think President LeBlanc’s response was realistic, straight-forward, and compassionate. How many presidents, even of smaller institutions, take the time to get into this kind of detail concerning financial aid? Having spent many years in higher education as a faculty member and administrator, it pained me to see the huge amounts of debt some students built up. What’s wrong with suggesting a community college for the first two years? Isn’t that one of the major reasons they were built?
profjw

I too am with President LeBlanc. There’s a very nice, very easy student loan calculator on finaid.org that says to support a total loan of $40,000 the student will need a salary of approximately $55,000 (and that’s is she doesn’t capitalize the interest, which if she can’t pay the $500 deposit, she’s unlikely to be able to do). The student’s mother may have
heard “everywhere” that college is a good investment, but all the more reason to pay attention to a specific, knowledgable person (Pres. LeBlanc) who is suggesting something different. Good for him.
kcheartlein

Thanks to President LeBlanc for his candor. Choosing a college is about finding the right fit — including the financial fit. Students need to look at the whole picture and not burden themselves with unmanagable debt.
mmccllln

More colleges should take this approach. When one looks at national numbers, it’s clear that the vast majority don’t. Default and delinquency rates are skyrocketing and students over-borrowing to attend a specific college is a major culprit. In the pursuit of enrollment numbers, too many colleges neglect what is best for the student. I find Mr. LeBlanc’s approach refreshing.
greilly

In all other things in life, most of us make decisions based not simply on what we want, but what we can afford. I’d like to have a pool in my back yard, but I have to settle with the community pool. Vacationing in Fiji would be nice, but I’ll have to settle for a “stay-cation” this year, and I may never get to Fiji. Why should it be any different with colleges? You buy the best that you can afford. In this country, we talk about making college accessible for everyone, but saying the college of one’s dreams should be accessible for everyone is going too far.
copywritergirl

I think people need to walk away from the idea that degrees from really expensive schools open doors while attending an affordable state school will somehow cripple you. An expensive diploma with a fancy school name on top is NO guarantee of employment.
darccity

I’m on Mariah’s side here. But what’s a Southern New Hampshire University? I thought I’ve heard of every decent quality college in the nation. Who ever heard of this place? Nevertheless, a jr. college is not a decent substitute for a real university for most good students. Jr. college students are not only far less prepared, they are far less motivated to learn.We know that the quality of the students (prep, smarts, and motivation) are the critical factors to how good an education you get — check the literature! Good students get bored and turned off to education at a jr. college. My 7th grade son cruised through the tougher courses at the local J.C. (even got exempted from the finals). My 11th grade daughter aced a pre-calc course there after failing it in high school. And getting the “college experience” at a J.C.??? No way!
darccity

Education is fundamentally different, greilly! You don’t benefit from Rory taking a vacation or having a pool. But you do when she gets an education. She will be more productive and creative in her career, more innovative if she runs a business, a more informed voter, and less likely to turn to crime or be unemployed. That is why we have public support for higher ed in Pell Grants and Federal guaranteed low-interest student loans. And without that support, students like Rory will get suboptimal educational experiences that will harm everyone in our economy.
609zr

As far as I know, most renters require that the rent be no more than 25% of one’s income. If Ms. van Doren is paying 75% of her income for rent, she is already a high default risk candidate. College is over priced no doubt, but parents should start saving for their children’s education the day they start planning a family. Do not expect charity and then default on your loan responsibilities. Your child gets a free public school education at my expense (thousands of dollars per year in property taxes) and I don’t have any children. No matter what the topic, property owners and other taxpayers are expected to pick up the tab for other people’s children. College is not a “rite of passage” and I am sick to death of being financially responsible for other peoples’ children. If you can’t pay the rent, you might think twice before having children.
greilly

I’m not saying she shouldn’t get a college education, but what is wrong with a community college or smaller four-year school? Your posting implies that financially less expensive schools are automatically inferior to expensive schools. As a professor at a community college, I completely reject that. The experience you get in my classroom is exactly what you’d get at a four-year school… possibly better since my intro courses only have 35 students in them, not hundreds. If Rory is doomed to be unemployed or a criminal because she had to go to a less expensive school, then why are taxpayers wasting their money funding community colleges and smaller state schools? If less expensive means “suboptimal education experiences that will harm everyone in our economy”, then we should close down all community colleges as a threat to our nation!
greilly

Wow! There’s painting with a real wide brush! All community colleges are bad because your two kids had bad experiences at one school. If someone attends a community college, they must be far less prepared and far less motivated to learn than “good students”. Good students who accidentally attend a community college will only be bored and risk being permanently damaged by the experience. Good heavens! Don’t tell that to all the four-year college and university students who enroll in my summer courses at (I’m ashamed now to admit this) the community college. I’m sorry– I never realized I was working at the academic equivalent of a crack den.
bdr8y

I wonder how much of SNHU’s institutional aid goes to attracting talented higher incomes students to enroll? To maximize finances and prestige, SNHU, like other institutions, likely finds it more advantageous to give two high acheiving/higher income students 5 grand each to come to SNHU rather than subsidizing a lower-income student with 10 grand.
profmomof1

I went to a community college near my home for the first two years, then transferred to branch of the state university. I would have loved to go to my first choice (or even second, third, fourth) school and live in a dorm but even with two parents working there was no way I could afford it. By working those first two years and saving money, I was able to go to the state school with additional grant, loan, and work study. I still ended up getting into a top grad school (with tuition scholarship) for Ph.D., got a good tenured position, have a great career, with a workable debt load. This woman and her daughter are being completely unrealistic, heads in clouds and heading for a fall. The president was just trying to help them see that reality — we can’t always get exactly what we want, but there are other routes to a great ending.
inlibrarian

Unfortunately, Rory will probably not make it to her second year of college because she will have trouble paying the “family contribution” of the tuition. She will not be able to enroll in classes for her second year until her bill is paid and she will not be able to transfer to the community college or less expensive state university because the registrar will not release her transcripts untill her bill is settled.

I applaud Mr. LeBlanc for being direct–telling an unpleasant truth is difficult. It would be better for the VanDoren family to face this disappointment now since ignoring it will just make the problem grow.
ltscollege

You could not find two more different campuses than Marlboro and SNHU Given that fact, I am not sure this family has a true idea of what they are trying to achieve and that could get them into a financial mess.
22185161

I totally agree that, as reported here, President LeBlanc was both kind and realistic in his responses, and the family has much to learn relative to what they can and should do in financing their daughter’s education. But… “he (LeBlanc) uses the blog as a way to think things through” ??? Say what??? Blogs are PUBLIC. That means they are open for all to see. Posting items that are not well thought out is a recipe for communications disaster. It appears this post created some, though not a great, deal of negative PR. Another post from the president where he is “thinking things through” could create a total crisis communications scenario.
big_giant_head

Hm. There may be something else going on in that calc class. I am a prof at a CC, and I know that our chemistry classes are “easier” than the chem classes at the local university. At least they are if you just look at the grade distributions. However, our students do just fine when they go on to the higher-level chem classes at that same university. What that tells me is that “hard” is not the same as “effective” or “rigorous.” There is a lot of gatekeeping that goes on at some universities, a practice in which we at CC’s have very little interest.
11126275

SNHU and Marlboro College are both private schools. I am not sure what state this student lives in but there are state schools that would be less expensive and still meet the needs of a four year degree and not involve transferring (which can also be expensive since not all credits transfer). I agree that this family is not getting good advice.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=12462584 Jeremy Harmon

This is a very flawed argument. My parents did not go to college, and they didn’t expect me to go either. I come from a blue-collar background where the only training you needed was practical, hands on experience working at the family business. My family did well enough, but we still didn’t have money to save for college when I decided in high school that I would go.

Without the opportunity that financial aid and about $12,000 in loans gave me, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue an education. My education transformed my life. Everyone deserves that opportunity if they work to pursue it.
wordlover65

I agree with many of the commenters who sided with Dr. LeBlanc. The cold, hard truth is that we just can’t always get what we want. While an undergrad at a four-year university, I took some summer courses at a community college, and found the professors to be excellent. My government professor was far superior to the one at my university. Later in my life, I took some courses at another community college and, once again, the professors were excellent. One of them performed a miracle because she made me actually like statistics! So, Ms. vanDoren, if your daughter has to settle, she will learn a valuable life lesson, and she will probably do just fine.
ruskaya

I had to join the army to pay for college, a direction that actually made me a much better student (discipline, maturity, etc…). I don’t buy the idea that a more expensive education is better – employers don’t necessarily care what instituition you went to, they look for what experiences did you have. If Rory attends a less expensive institution where she doesn’t have to stress about working to make money she can focus on getting experience outside of class that will help her in her future career – internships (paid or not), campus leadership roles, volunteering, or substantial part-time jobs). Having the “campus experience” is great, but if you can’t afford 4 years of it, find another way.
katisumas

Perhaps you need to do a bit of research on what portion of their income renters actually pay? I wonder if you are aware of the society you live in?
deliajones

Well, as a twenty-five year veteran of the community college system, I’m going to take umbrage at your “suboptimal education” slur. Many community colleges provide an even better option to first generation students because our small class sizes and emphasis on teaching allows us to nurture and mentor our students in ways that many four-year faculty simply don’t have as much time to . I see dozens of my students transfer after two years to very good schools, schools that are regionally and even nationally prestigious, and as an earlier commenter said, they have the same degree at about half the price. Yes, some aspects of the social life are missed out on, and that can be disappointing, but the taxpayer benefits from educating our young people, not entertaining them.
katisumas

I’m already sick ahead of time of paying for your health care and disability benefits if you get into an accident or come down with a majpor disease and get disabled.

I’m sick of paying for the road you travel on while I’m not using it (actually, what do you think of the idea of privatizing all roads and paying a toll to a corporation whenever you’re going to your neighborhood store (and that goes for sidewalks too. Why should I pay for free loading pedestrians!)

I’m sick of paying for the fire dept. to stem a fire in your house while mine isn’t burning.

I’m sick of paying for research to cure your cancer because I don’t intent to ever coming down with it (I’m so glad the newly elected House members, your fellow travelers, think like you do because they’re doing major cuts for cancer research –aren’t you happy? Particularly since you were forced to pay for the k-12 education of all those cancer researchers –it would have been soooooo much fairer if they stuck to picking through garbage and died before they got old enough to reproduce)

I’m sick on behalf of my parents and grandparents and ancestors and myself of paying for public education that allows you to live in a prosperous society. Actually, didn’t I pay for your schooling?

If truth be told, I’m sick of people who are so incredibly short sigthted that they make self destructive selfishness a virtue. If you don’t want to take care of your fellow human beings, you’re basically a lemming.

This has nothing to do with the fact that I too think the family we are discussing would have been better off sending their kid to a community college and then transferring. But this has nothing to do with your attitude because you’re obviously objecting to community colleges as well.
simone1

I absolutely agree, form my knowledge of Marlboro and SNHU, that this family has no real idea what they are doing in their school search and are over-committing Rory to burdensome debt. I think it was brave and appropriate for LeBlanc to suggest to her mother that Rory’s thinking might be clouded. But clearly Rory’s mom also lacks perspective on this.
jamesebryan

It strikes me that you should find out those facts before you start implying those practices, before we even get into debating the merits of SNHU’s theoretical financial aid priorities. You aren’t certain they do that, and you haven’t established that they would be wrong to do so if they do. I can think of other advantages besides just money and fame to attracting high performing students.
katisumas

Good point! I would add however, from my experience with students at two year colleges that they also had fun, they were able to socialize with a wider variety of people and age groups and made lifelong friendships…. and of course they got much more individual attention from their professors as they attended smaller classes instead of spending their freshman year sitting in lecture halls alongside 300 other students being lectured by a TA.
referee101

Mr. President, well done. You did indeed take the appropriate tone–in fact, you were much more patient and understanding than many of us would have been. There was nothing politically incorrect about your response except that it was factual, appropriate, and candid. If this had been my daughter I would have turned to her and said, “Lesson One in Life: Use perceived failures as motivation. Many of us advance along the shoulder when the road is blocked”

I hope that Rory eventually enrolls at your institution and graduates, and then shares her story with others.
darccity

You don’t understand. I’m not putting down CC instructors (though heavy teaching loads and lack of a doctorate in their field is another strike against them at many CC). Sadly for we profs, the quality of the teaching and class size doesn’t test statistically significant in learning outcomes. Instead, as I mentioned, it is the quality of the students that accounts for these outcomes. Hence, colleges with highly motivated, well-prepared, intelligent students dictate how much students learn. My own experience is that classes filled with these type of students do foster a learning environment.
darccity

The northeast has less of a tradition of state-financed higher education. Southeast New Hampshire especially has become a parasitical suburban tax refuge for Rt. 100 hi-tech wealth. By escaping income and sales taxes, these NH residents avoid supporting public education funding while still sending their prep-school kids to the highly-selective private colleges in the Boston area. Whatta country!
darccity

Most likely they live in New Hampshire, which long ago dumped the full burden for funding public services (including education) onto the property tax. No other eastern state lacks both a property tax and income tax, too. Renter must pay steep rents because landlords can “shift” the tax fully to renters. Renters have no other option if they are placebound and cannot qualify for a mortgage loan (who can these days under the new rules post-2008?). Property taxes are regressive, even more so because schools in wealthy neighborhood tend to be much better places for learning (less crime, smarter kids).
whm3113

The financial aid office at your school has been having this conversation with parents and students for years. A percentage of parents appeal. We make every effort to accommodate special circumstances (job loss, death, disability). But when there is no special situation, and it is a matter of the family not being able to meet the Expected Family Contribution, or not being comfortable the level of debt, the correct answer is not to award additional grant. We award grant funds according to a formula, not our personal feelings regarding the student’s specific situation. When we award according to our feelings it puts us in the position of making decisions based on factors that are not fair to the student population as a whole.

There is no way to know what is true the family’s appeal. The student’s mother says they pay 75 percent of their income in rent, yet she is able to find $400 for an admissions deposit. I’m not saying she making that up, but we don’t know the whole story of the family. For example, we don’t know if there is extended family willing to assist. We have no way to know that and it isn’t our business to ask.

Any answer from the college president other than “here is more grant aid, please come to our school” was going to be seen as “harsh” by the parent. His reply was not harsh when viewed objectively. It obviously took time for him to craft the message. The financial aid office staff doesn’t have the time to produce such comprehensive responses to every appeal, especially when the answer is no. Our responses are harsh. We use a form letter.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1487003047 Darcie Callahan

I also am child-free but I do NOT resent having my tax dollars go to “other people’s children.” I am happy to contribute to Mariah becoming a teacher or a social worker or a nurse or whatever other profession an intelligent, talented young woman may choose. Helping students like Mariah makes for a better society and that benefits me in the long run. What a demoralizing thought it is that a bright, promising student may have to spend years of her life in brain-numbing routine labor simply because she was born into an impoverished family.
edwoof

First of all, why does the CHE article refer to Dr. LeBlanc as Mr. LeBlanc? He has a PhD from UMass. I found his response to be measured and thoughtful.

The problem with college admissions process is that the whole “managing expectations” aspect is being left to the individual colleges. I found it very perplexing that the daughter “wanted to have the whole on- campus experience” so there cannot even be consideration of living at home to curtail expenses. This is completely unrealistic given the family’s financial circumstances.
saeldredge

I wonder…it seems that everyone on the comments here are saying that it’s just fine to go to community college. The idea is that you can do just fine in life without attending an elite institution. My guess is that is true for most state schools, community colleges, and 2nd or 3rd tier private institutions (like Southern New Hampshire). However, what about those that attend Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Yale, etc.? While I think that if you learn chemistry at a community college or chemistry at Harvard, it’s the same periodic table of elements. But I wonder if the name Harvard on the resume will help the student go farther. I wonder if the contacts made through other students at Harvard will help the student go farther. Who would an employer choose? A student with a degree from Harvard or a student with a degree from State U? I think this is the root of the whole race to get into the best college you can. My guess is students at the truly elite institutions have all kinds of advantages over students that go to state schools. However, we end up having competitions at all levels when it really doesn’t make a difference whether the student starts at a community college or at a big state school. I think the family in this story is trying to overcome a gap that doesn’t exist (state schools vs community college), while thinking they are trying to overcome the gap that should be addressed (elite institutions vs state schools).
http://www.facebook.com/people/Seth-Davi/1502610352 Seth Davi

“Sadly for we profs, the quality of the teaching and class size doesn’t test statistically significant in learning outcomes.”

You mean, “sadly for US profs”. “For” is a preposition, which means the word following it is the object of the preposition. Objects of prepositions take the objective case, a case which, in English, applies primarily to personal pronouns, such as the one you misused.

I’m not sure what to make of “doesn’t test statistically significant.” Because your modifiers are modifying a verb, I think “significant” should also take the adverb form. However, I could be wrong. The overall sloppiness of your syntax makes it difficult to understand its semantic content.

In other words, you are the last person who should be bashing CC instructors. I really hope you’re a troll, not a “prof.”
whm3113

If she had been admitted to Harvard she would be in this situation. Harvard meets the student’s full financial need with grant funding when they are from a family where the Adjusted Gross Income is under a specific level. That’s difference between going to a school with a hugh endowment and going to most other colleges and universities.
whm3113

The CHE does not use the title of Dr. to identify people in their stories.
jspahigered

I think what hasn’t been brought up is that while getting a college education or a bachelors degree is seen as a right of passage it rarely leads to a well paying career. Business are looking for people with specific skills not just a bachelor’s degree anymore. Many of my friends with a bachelor’s degree have gone on to get a master’s degree in a specific skill just to get the skills that employers want in order to be competitive in the market. While the prestige of having a bachelors or a master’s degree is all very good, prestige doesn”t pay the bills. Ask many liberal arts Phds who are making less than a manager at McDonalds. Having a bachelor’s degree is no longer an automatic entry into the middle class. Nor is simply getting more degrees that don’t bring value. Getting poorer by degrees anyone?

A far better idea I think for everyone would be to look first at a specific career that teaches one a skills that is wanted in the market place and ensures a good paying job when you graduate. These can be at a two year institution or a 4 year institution. For example I offer the following jobs: optician, electrician, plumber, physical therapist assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist, occupational therapist assistant, radiologist, x-ray technician, registered nurse. If students want to go on to get a bachelor ‘s degree they can do so later with far less debt burden.
whm3113

Obtaining a baccalaurate degree for the sake of finding a high paying job may indeed be a mistake. The degree is intended to prepare the student to be a literate member of society; able to discuss art, science, civics, etc. If you want jub training then your suggestion is well given. Some corrections though; a radiologist is a medical doctor and you need at least a baccalaurate degree to be a licenced physical therapist or an occupational therapist (in most jurisdictions).
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=173700073 Courtney Wason

I also respect Presiden LeBlanc’s response. The mother is, unfortunately, buying into a great myth that most parents who want the best for their children buy into: that a college education is your ticket to financial success. In reality, it can also be your ticket to financial ruin. I graduated with my BA in 2006 and MA in 2009. The only job I’ve been able to find in this job market is a part-time gig at a college working 22 hours a week. I get no benefits. I get no vacation. I have no retirement plan. I also teach part-time at a community college, which still does not make ends meet. I’m lucky I’m married to an engineer, frankly. Alone, I have a college debt of $68,000 (and I went to grad school for free!), together, my husband and I are starting our lives together with about $150,000 in college debt. I know that we’re not alone. I wish I had taken seriously my guidance counselor’s recommendation that I go to a community college for the first two years of school, but until we manage to banish the stigma of community colleges, stories like the van Doren’s are just going to get more numerous.
cybrarian_ca

Look at all the unemployed and underemployed PhDs… some with degrees from the Ivy Leagues …
cybrarian_ca

Actually, I disagree that everyone deserves the opportunity for a college education even if they work for it. I think one more factor is even more important – are they really capable of doing well in college? I’ve seen so many under-prepared, barely literate students that it’s pathetic – and I’ve been at 2 top research universities and 2 comprehensive colleges – no community colleges. Still, I get papers wherein the writers haven’t the least idea how to write in complete sentences! College is NOT for everyone, and this push to have more and more people pursue a college education is deeply unfortunate, and I believe has diluted the value of many degrees.
drnels

This is a troubling discussion on a lot of levels, but I am struck by how the line about the student wanting the “whole college experience.” I think that is part of the problem. A lot of students would not graduate with as much debt as they do if they went to school part-time and worked part-time or full-time. I took five years at the undergraduate level and worked because the idea of taking out so many loans scared me. But I also had my own apartment, took the bus, and didn’t really want “the whole college experience.” Just as we all have to think about what a college education is worth these days, we also have to think about what the college experience is worth. It is possible to get an undergraduate degree and get a good job with no debt. But it often means not doing college the “traditional” way.
cybrarian_ca

There’s another option for students as well – work (though
yes, I realize there are fewer jobs right now).
I’m from a blue-collar background, with parents who never went to
college or even high school (they’re from another country). I had the grades to go anywhere, and no
financial support from my family at all.
Nor did I get loans. I paid for
everything with a mix of scholarships that covered tuition and books, plus jobs
to support myself. I worked 40+ hours a
week and took a full course load, and I was far from the only one. No, I didn’t have the “college
experience” – I was always either working, doing school work, or
attending classes. I waited tables,
worked in the campus library, worked in the audio-visual center, and
supplemented these with occasional stints working in the college bookstore during rush times and
participating in paid experiments by the Psychology department ($10 for an hour
answering surveys, etc.). I lived in a
co-op and worked a few hours a month for part of my rent, and also put in a few hours a month at a
food co-op to get cheaper groceries. Yes,
I was busy. But I graduated without a
cent of debt – and an A average (my school didn’t use GPAs). Working doesn’t necessarily ruin your grades – you just have to manage your time a whole lot better. It’s still possible to do this; there are a lot of kids
at my current institution doing exactly what I did. Or you can register as a part-time student,
work, and take a bit longer to finish your degree. No, none of these options is fun – but who said
college or learning were supposed to be fun?
Enriching, yes. Not necessarily
fun.
tdb489

Your story is very similar to my college experience. We survived and are better people for it. The work ethic of the American student (and apparently their parents) is dead and gone. “Give me more money and don’t expect me to pay you back.” I suppose that attitude will transfer to the work place. I’m sorry, but people like that do not deserve a free education or a job. Work for me and I guarantee that you will be FIRED before your three month probationary period ends.
willamette

I see nothing wrong with President LeBlanc’s responses to Ms. van Doren’s requests for assistance. It wasn’t as if he told her that “the world needs ditchdiggers. too”.
greilly

But you are putting down CC instructors. By denigrating all community college students and dismissing them as being of such poor quality that they undermine the learning environment, you are in essence telling me that my job is a waste of time. My efforts to teach them is just throwing pearls before swine. And once again, you have made an absurd generalization— at my school, a significant number of the professors have their doctorates. Some of us have even published academic works and are consulted by other professors at four-year schools and universities for our expertise in our fields. And to say that the heavy teaching load is a strike against us CC instructors is like blaming flood victims for the water in their homes. How can I not be offended when you devalue the work I do?
jffoster

Why can’t Miss Mariah, or Miss Rory, or whatever her name is this week go to the University of New Hampshire, assuming it’s in NH that they live?
jffoster

Well, assuming Miss Rory, or Miss Mariah, or whatever her name is this week, lives in New Hampshire, what’s wrong with the state University of New Hampshire? I understand they have a very nice campus too. And even though it’s public (how vulgar!?), I wouldn’t take it for granite, even if it is in New Hampshire!
jffoster

Indeed, Mr. edwoof, …113 is correct. It’s East Elite reverse snobbery, even though, as you a Latinophile will know, the use of it in the general professoriat has an older and better claim on the title ‘Dr.’ for an earned doctorate than the restriction of it to physicians does.
kosboot

What would have helped both Pres. LeBlanc and especially Ms. Van Doren is a financial advisor. The evidence given strongly suggests that Ms. Van Doren is living beyond her means (75% of income goes to rent). A financial advisor would be able to inform Ms. Van Doren and her daughter of the projections for student loans and the likelihood of repaying them within a period of time, and what that means for her future earning power for years. Further, the financial advisor can impress upon Rory what the presence of large debt will do to one’s credit rating upon graduating (she’ll be in very bad shape).

Many people refuse to accept that they may not have the funds to accomplish all that they dream about. As many people have written, people need to start understanding how to live within their means.
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
uniwashdc

@19428a Seriously? Maybe all these little tots should be able to opt-out of paying Social Security and Medicare taxes when they are all grown up… you know, so they don’t have to support grouchy old people they have no relation to at all. Stop with the child hating. We pay taxes to support public schools because it is important to society. Get over it.
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
cratnat

Because a student comes from a low income background, does not mean they are ill prepared for college. Rory has been given merit based awards at every college. She is a good student and a leader who has spoke before state wide drop prevention groups, been on panels on bullying on tv, and profiled in the Providance Journal.
I had to make the decision to pay the deposit and get behind on the rent or not pay the deposit. I paid the deposit.
Being poor does not make me a liar, on welfare, or dis-honest. Just poor. There are real people behind these stories. Faces, families, people trying to help their children. Why shouldn’t we want the best? Because we are poor? What does that say about the educational system? maybe I should have pushed her to be an athlete. There would have been no short of money for her then.
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
whm3113

The idea that athletes get a free ride is a myth. A very small number of student athletes get full scholarships.

If you are sacrificing to pay the deposit you are going to be having a lot of struggles over the next four years. It’s not about wanting what is best for your child. It is about the impact of today’s decision on tomorrow’s life.

My advice to you and Rory is simple. Keep student loan debt as low as possible. Doing that will place Rory in a position to thrive after college.
margray

I agree that a degree from an ivy league school will confer certain advantages to the graduate, but a lot of those advantages were there when the student entered the college. Those students have definite advantages of intelligence or connections, or money or sophistication. A degree from a top notch school can add to that, but a poor, isolated, naive, or average student is not going to get into or survice a school like that anyway.
margray

I agree that a degree from an ivy league school will confer certain advantages to the graduate, but a lot of those advantages were there when the student entered the college. Those students have definite advantages of intelligence or connections, or money or sophistication. A degree from a top notch school can add to that, but a poor, isolated, naive, or average student is not going to get into or survice a school like that anyway.
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
margray

Of course you want the best for your child. Everyone does. But not everyone has the money to pay for it. I would have liked to have sent my children to Europe for the summers, but did not have the money for it. I would have liked to have sent my children to private schools instead of public schools, but did not have the money for it. It isn’t about wanting the best, it is about managing to get the best for your children that you can afford. You do not have the money to send your child to this school. Send her to another one. See that she acquires a good education and the skills to survive the workplace. You can get a good education nearly anywhere, if you work at it, and an inferior one almost anywhere if you are lazy and don’t work at it.

One of my daughters got a scholarship to St Phillip’s when she was in Junior High School, but even with the scholarship, I just couldn’t afford the place. She went to public school, then a state school, got an excellent education and has a fine career, all because she is willing to work at her life. Your daughter can do the same, and be a fine, productive, happy adult, which, of course, is your ultimate goal.
margray

Of course you want the best for your child. Everyone does. But not everyone has the money to pay for it. I would have liked to have sent my children to Europe for the summers, but did not have the money for it. I would have liked to have sent my children to private schools instead of public schools, but did not have the money for it. It isn’t about wanting the best, it is about managing to get the best for your children that you can afford. You do not have the money to send your child to this school. Send her to another one. See that she acquires a good education and the skills to survive the workplace. You can get a good education nearly anywhere, if you work at it, and an inferior one almost anywhere if you are lazy and don’t work at it.

One of my daughters got a scholarship to St Phillip’s when she was in Junior High School, but even with the scholarship, I just couldn’t afford the place. She went to public school, then a state school, got an excellent education and has a fine career, all because she is willing to work at her life. Your daughter can do the same, and be a fine, productive, happy adult, which, of course, is your ultimate goal.
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
burger1234

Have you ever gone to an interview and the boss says, ”And where is that college? I have never heard of it.” How often do you think that person would get jobs? It is naive to say the name of the school doesn’t matter. It isn’t the ONLY thing, but it does matter.
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
burger1234

It sounds like you think poor students should not be allowed to go to school. How would you determine who goes and who doesn’t. You know for a fact that rich people would get the chance no matter what. Therefore, your comment means the poor should not go, thus they should stay poor working in low skilled, low wage jobs. Without a push to get more people in college, cycles of poverty in the poor communities would continue. Unless you mean we base admissions completely on academic merit, and you have an accurate way to measure that merit, your meaning is essentially the rich can go and the poor must stay poor. It can also be assumed that you believe you are superior in some way, as you have obviously been to college (which you so arrogantly state). If I were judging, I would say you are not fit for college as you fail to see the implications in your argument (That is of course if I bought in to your ridiculous notion).
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
SophieMerry

In trying to work up some sympathy for the mother and daughter in this story, I find that I just can’t.

Why, why, why? do so many starry-eyed youth conflate their desire for entrance to their “dream” school with the feeling that, somehow, they have a *right* to attend?
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
aaroncj

I recall a study by Krueger and Dale from the late 90s which showed that at least with respect to income two decades hence, going to an elite private school offered no significant advantage. Rather, high ability people tended to achieve whether they went to an elite private or a lesser-renowned institution. Though there may be advantages in certain career paths coming out of an elite school, this study suggests that ability trumps pedigree in the longer term.

Frankly, I really hope this is true for it would be a sad day indeed if the admissions committees of a select few institutions are using rather subjective criteria to limit the futures of thousands of very bright and capable people. http://www.irs.princeton.edu/pubs/pdfs/409.pdf
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
greatcollegeadvice

Hooray for the reality check. Thank you, President LeBlanc, for offering some tough love.
I recently traveled on an airplane seated next to a young man who had borrowed $100,000 to fund his degree at Maine Maritime Academy. His loan payment is $1600 per month, after consolidation. He will carry that burden for 20 years. In the meantime, he is now forced to take a job he hates in order to get the money to pay the loan. So he’s employed, but unhappily. Gainfully, but a huge chunk of change goes to pay back the loan. He swears he’s happy with his choices; I didn’t have the heart to point out that he was wearing an anvil around his neck.

We need more people in the higher education business telling customers that they are being foolish with their money. If people then go ahead and buy what they cannot afford, well, too bad for them. But with student debt now surpassing credit card debt, will this house of cards upon which so many college budgets are built all come crashing down sometime soon?
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=614395 Henrietta Jones

”We need more people in the higher education business telling customers that they are being foolish with their money.” Yet, I have heard stories from some people who did just that who encountered backlash from students. The students (and their families) didn’t think they were receiving favorable advice; instead they felt highly insulted.
whm3113

Thank you for contacting me. I am out of the office until Friday May 19. If you are a student seeking information regarding financial aid at The University of Texas at Dallas you should resubmit your question to financial-aid@utdallas.edu.

Bill Mack
Associate Director of Financial Aid
University of Texas at Dallas
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R7AD4VDCURMCACQOITZPDSTCKM MichaelT

You know, I went to a really nice community college and then transferred to a good University of California campus to finish. There is nothing wrong with that. Not everyone is rich, and when you’re not you just have to deal with it.

One other point is that while large debt is undesirable there are new repayment programs that base payments on a percentage of income. After 25 years of making payments any balance is discharged (ibrinfo.org). My understanding is that many are unaware that this program even exists. It is, however, only through the federal government (Direct Loans http://www.dl.ed.gov) and not available through private lenders. But you can consolidate private loans with the fed and they would then become eligible. Don’t let student loan debt burden discourage you from pursuing your dreams. There are options.
iris411

But is it accurate enough?
dmoser5

Is it the “fault” of social media if the volunteers and the professionals are not sharing the same operating procedures? And how in the world does social media, as a tool, pinpoint disease outbreaks?

Please—this is intellectually sloppy.

It is the USE of social media to capture and transmit information that is the vital issue here. This is nothing more than use of a technological tool (granted, it is a “network” tool).

Sorry, Josh Fischman — I was happy to read this until I came across those comments. The tool itself has no value if not applied properly, nor does the tool “prove” anything in and of itself.

But I’m happy to see the successful USE of this tool in a vital manner. Thanks!
katisumas

You are taking his statement out of context. The main argument of the article is that social media have proven themselves to be very useful and BECAUSE of this, it is now worthwhile to improve their reporting ability to track diseases and to synchronize the way various help groups and individuals make use of them.

Social media can pinpoint disease outbreaks because of the frequency of the mention of an illness affecting the people and their families and friends participating in them When there’s a concentration of messages about an infectuous disease and the posters are indicating where they are, then this media can help pinpoint disease outbreaks. Look at the EXAMPLES given by John Fishman.

My understanding of the article is that the author is suggesting this to be used more frequently. I’m thinking for instance that encouraging people to twitter on a list of infectuous diseases at their first seeing or hearing of one would help. Perhaps the WHO could set up a special easy to accesss twitter site for this purpose?
katisumas

It is accurate enough in that it does show the probability that there is a a need for investigation and medical help.
simplycurious

The key words in this piece are “…in an after-the-fact…” and “…did not share the same operating procedures…”

While I do not discount the use of technology tools (like Clickers in a lecture hall to makes sure that a day’s lesson is being understood); but when a writer discounts the implications of ex-post facto analysis in the absence of an adequate experimental method, then this remains simply and “observation” that should be subjected to further evaluation. There remains a difference between data and information.

The second point: the inference that this article conveys, that a person in the village tweets the word cholera after a natural catastrophe has occurred, and instantaneously creates a sustainable infrastructure to provide clean water and antibiotic, is a stretch of credibility. This minimizes the dire conditions that arise in tent-cities. In the absence of infrastructure, hurricanes and earthquakes have an a priori value in the prediction of epidemics. They are epidemiological twins.

One who builds their house on railroad tracks, should expect trains.
dmoser5

I’m not taking it out of context … I’m just not anthropomorphizing “social media”. Far too much of this happens in the press as it is. Stop confusing the tool with the users. Oh, and I DID look at the examples. Doesn’t change my comments addressing this column — I suppose I could be cruel and blame on an anonymous editor, adjusting the column to fit the space but I’m not sure that The Chron would do that.