Quote:
Originally Posted by jessicalynn
Be that as it may, these days it is literally impossible to be a college student without access to a computer.
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Indeed. In several of the countries I've lived in, equal rights to education are guaranteed to everybody, rich or poor, by the constitution. Trouble is, it's bollocks
In theory, poor students without a computer are allowed to turn in hand-written term papers and theses. Yet, in reality, most schools require a printed paper generated by some kind of text processor (be it Word, OpenOffice or LaTex), and more often than not, a CD that contains the source document, so it can be fed into a software that detects plagiarism.
Practically, that means poor students have to find access to a computer somehow. Sometimes they use prehistoric, virus-laden computers the school allows them to use 2 hours a day, sometimes they use a friend's computer, sometimes they buy their own barely usable antiquated piece of equipment and have to make do with pasta and potatoes for weeks to pay it off. I've witnessed this, both as a student and as a teacher.
As a result, the well-off obviously have an easier time doing studies than the poor because of school requirements that essentially mandate a computer. It's one more roadblock to getting an education entirely (and artificially) due to one's financial situation, and not one's potential, as it should be.
I'm all for computers, but I find this disgusting. I can't wait for some student to flunk only because he couldn't find a computer to use, and to challenge the school's decision in court on constitutional grounds.