First Day of School, Part One

We have in this city the largest college in the nation. It is called City College of San Francisco. At its peak, it had over 80,000 students, but enrollment has fallen some 25 percent recently.

That's because like many educational institutions in this state, it has fallen on hard times, given budget cuts and other challenges. It now faces losing its accreditation a year from now, though not for academic reasons. This all seems mainly to be about politics, and posturing by politicians, from what I can tell.

This morning, this troubled college opened for classes in what could be its final year. Among those showing up was Zaira, Aidan's girlfriend. He escorted her there, in his chivalrous manner.

It often amazes me how little we seem, collectively, to value educating our youth. Zaira is the very essence of our future as a society. A smart Latina, bilingual and highly motivated, she wants to become highly educated, successful and to help make this country a better place.

Her Mexican immigrant parents speak little or no English. They work hard but are part of what some call our "underclass."

If we are to tackle the social and political and global problems we face, we need her and all of those of her generation to step up. We need them to be the smartest and best-prepared they can be. How can we possibly allow their colleges to close?

Today was the first day of school not just for Zaira but for the rest of us. We all need to be paying close attention.

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