Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 9/9/08 Section: Opinion

Max Stephenson, an 18-year-old recently accepted into New York University, was able to scrounge up $6,000 from generous donors who responded to his e-mail request for college money, according to a 2008 Time magazine article.

Can you believe the nerve of some people?

OK, I'll admit it - I'm jealous. I wish my bank account was greener than my eyes right now. I could use $6,000, and, unlike Stephenson, that amount would cover my entire tuition and then some.

He still needs $19,000 to take care of the rest of his tuition, according to the same article. All his other loans wouldn't cover it.

And this is someone who started his own organization, AccessHybrid, which, ironically, loans students money to buy environmentally friendly cars. If he has that gold star on his resume, but he still can't get financial aid, where does that leave the rest of us?

The standards put on today's youth are way too high. We're just not tall enough. I mean, what more can we aspire to? What's higher than entrepreneurs? Entrepreneurs have no bosses, for Pete's sake.

If you ask me, though, I don't think Stephenson even needs the money. The article states that he went to Russia for a year to play ice hockey. How could he afford that and not NYU? He should have saved that money for college.

I see his priorities - he'd rather become the next Mighty Duck than a college graduate. I smell a scam, but Time magazine says it's legit.

Stephenson's messed-up priorities, however, show that sometimes, it is college students' fault that they can't get loans. Part of the reason I'm disgusted with Stephenson is that he doesn't seem to be taking responsibility for his actions. He's taking the easy way out. He probably never asked himself, "What would Spider-Man do?"

I understand the desperation for cash, but I would liken Stephenson's mass e-mail to begging: He's asking strangers for money.

Indeed, whatever the means to the ends are, it's easy to criticize someone who's successful. But, perhaps, we all should swallow our pride and do as Stephenson did - lest we fall.

It may not be the same as asking for money from the parental units or the Financial Aid & Scholarship Office, but if we can wrap our heads around online dating, why not this?

In fact, if I were Stephenson, I'd be patting myself on the back for coming up with something so wild - it worked.

Taking chances pays off. We've learned at least that much from this debacle.

Stephenson's e-mail plea also shows how far we've come. Technology-wise, we've evolved. We can reach strangers on the other side of the world within seconds. We've come a long way from tying two tin cans with a string.

The fact that he can afford a year in Russia, but not a semester at NYU, speaks volumes about the state of the union. The U.S. economy is failing college students, among others.

Maybe Stephenson's e-mail is a wake-up call. The response he has gotten is a testament to people's kindness. Even though I throw up a little in my mouth thinking about Stephenson's e-mails, if - 10 years from now - I have a steady income, and I receive a similar plea in my inbox, I might throw in a penny.

We all remember what it's like to suffer. Those memories are never filtered as spam.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools