It's Friday; time to rip on one of the worst pieces of writing ever to make the mainstream. Katynka Z. Martínez is writing about something. I just don't know what. Her words are in bold. But that doesn't make them any less infuriating.
Will college become a luxury for the few?
Editor's note: Katynka Z. Martínez is an assistant professor in the department of Raza Studies at San Francisco State University. She works with students, faculty and staff of the College of Ethnic Studies to restructure public education.
Nate's note: I have no idea what Raza studies is.
San Francisco, California (CNN) — Before the protests of tuition hikes last week, a colleague posted the following: "Need suggestions for protest songs. We have a DJ but need to give her a play list." The requests started coming in: Joan Baez, the Dixie Chicks, The Clash.
That is so super awesome. "Hey Bill, we're protesting next week. You got the DJ yet?" California really does know how to party.
I wondered about the overlap between songs on a professor's play list and those on a student's. So I went to class and asked students to tell me what they wanted to hear. The list included Dead Prez, Lyrics Born, B-Side Players and Erykah Badu, among many others. This is the protest play list of a new generation.
That is a weird thing to wonder. So far, I like Ms. Martinez. She is definitely a stoner. Only a stoner would worry about such a thing and then write a CNN column on it. I like stoners. They're usually so laid back and nice.
My introduction to protest songs came through my mom.
Mine too.
As the daughter of a Chicano movement activist, I attended protests against wars in Central America and rallies in response to police repression.
Umm… I listened to Janis Joplin a few times. (Wow. Ms. Martinez is so cool.)
Last week, I marched in solidarity with people across 17 states calling for well-funded, accessible public education.
Last week, I watched both Ghostbusters movies in one sitting.
While at the March 4 rally, I realized that California's public education system has had a great impact on who my mother and I are today.
While watching Ghostbusters, I realized that Bill Murray's sense of humor has seriously impacted the way I interact with women.
As a 15-year-old immigrant newly arrived in Los Angeles, my mother was placed in remedial classes because she didn't speak English. She struggled with the language but excelled in math. Yet her high school counselor directed her to work at a local tortilla factory.
Okay, we're a few paragraphs into this so I got to ask, what the hell is this column about? Anyone? Is it immigrants? Is it education? Is it music? With this kind of disrespect for logic and fluidity, this writer chick could write my observation pieces.
This was the early 1960s. Just a few years before, students responded to educational inequities through organized acts of civil disobedience that would later be referred to as the East Los Angeles blowouts.
East Los Angeles Blowouts is also a nickname for a group of Hispanic prostitutes who beat their Johns relentlessly while sucking them off. True story.
It was only by chance, and without parental or institutional guidance, that my mom enrolled in East Los Angeles College. Like many other low-income and working students, community college was her entry into higher education.
It was only by chance that my mother made a conscious decision to enroll in school? I don't think this chick knows what chance means.
It was not until her mid-30s that she enrolled in the California State University of Los Angeles while working full time. I was in elementary school and remember going to campus with her on days that my dad was working, even during an in-class exam. This was my first exposure to a university classroom.
Okay, I don't mean to be rude here but so the hell what? What in the name of all the Jarillo Cola in Florida is this Latina typing about?
Since then, I have taught at the California State University of Los Angeles and the University of California at San Diego. I am currently an assistant professor at San Francisco State University.
Good for you. I mean, that is great. What the hell is your point?
Watching preschool teachers and children participating in the recent marches reminded me that my education began at Head Start. My mom enrolled me in this program, which provided early reading and math skills and set a foundation for my educational development. I stand in solidarity with early childhood educators.
Watching Ghostbusters reminded me that Egan Spence liked to collect spores, mold and fungus. I stand in solidarity with fungus.
At the protest, I watched high school students confidently take the stage and list their demands and hopes for a better future. I wish that my mom, as a teenage immigrant, could have aired her own frustrations with the 1960s educational system. Today's high school students inspire me, and I am proud of today's teachers, who support their students.
On Ghostbusters, I watched Dan Akroyd get slimed. I wish that my mom had once had a chance to get slimed. Today's ghost movies inspire me and I am proud of today's moviegoers. Who support their movies. (Seriously, this babbling woman is an educator. Seriously.)
I ran into some of my own students at the rally. One asked where she could hear the DJ playing her song request.
Ah, the DJ stuff. When you started reading this article, didn't you think it was about musical generation gaps or something? I remember thinking that. Way back when I started reading this. Back when life made sense and both logic and fluidity were hanging around my office.
We searched through the sea of people and realized the turnout was much larger than we had imagined. The protest play lists of multiple generations filled the air with music.
Sounds fun.
Young fans of Dead Prez marched and chanted alongside older fans of Joan Baez. They all recognized the need for well-funded, accessible public education.
So what?
Rising student fees have placed barriers between thousands of eligible students and their dreams of higher education. In addition, budget cuts and the subsequent elimination of course offerings have extended the number of years necessary to graduate.
Wow. Okay, that really sucks. Maybe, had you gotten to that point a few hundred words earlier, I might not be mocking this rambling mess you call a column.
Many of my students have taken on multiple jobs to finance their education. I hear their stories and imagine my mom trying to attend Cal State L.A. today.
As someone who took on multiple jobs to finance his education, all I can say is, so the hell what? Life is tough.
Younger generations in the U.S. have consistently achieved a higher level of education than the generation that came before.
Yeah, and all the factory jobs took off for Asia shortly thereafter. What the hell is your point?
But for the first time since World War II, we are in danger of reversing that trend. Students and educators view education as a public good available to all and will continue mobilizing to restore funding for public education.
But where do students and educators stand on Joan Baez? That's the real question.
Will they receive support or will education become a luxury available to fewer and fewer people?
Really? That's how you end this? With an unanswered question? The title of this piece asks the question if college will become a luxury for the few. Then this chick goes on to babble about music and her mom for a thousand words. Then she asks the title question in her conclusion sentence. That really just happened there on CNN.com. CNN actually made me dumber and they didn't show me breasts or get me stoned.
What a crazy world.