Self-promoting is wack. So I’ll pen this blog post as an explanation of why I’ve been absent from the blog for a few days. Eh, that’s a lie, this is self-promotion usually reserved in the progressive world for the likes of Mark Green (I’m a big fan. I just call ‘em like I see ‘em.)

I was out of the office Friday to present at the Roosevelt Institution Policy Expo (hence the blog posts on students working on predatory lending and healthcare). As Ben Adler reported, I had a chance to give a lunch address on increasing socioeconomic diversity in higher education. I was flattered to find the remarks get picked up on Mic Check Radio this morning. So flattered, I decided to link to some quotes from the transcript here.

I think I can successfully play this one off as more than just tooting my own horn though. The fact that at America’s top 146 colleges and universities, 74 percent of students are from the richest socioeconomic quartile while just 3 percent are from the poorest quartile deserves our attention (whether I said it or not). Why?

Well, the reasons I give are the “3 E’s.” The Education argument. The Economy argument. And the Equality argument. 

First, socioeconomic diversity enriches the educational experience of all students, because we learn the most when we are in intellectual and social environments that expose us to a variety of backgrounds and perspectives first hand, not just from a textbook.

Second, socioeconomic diversity is necessary for America’s economic prosperity. If we’re going to compete in the global economy, we must give every student the opportunity to make effective use of their talents and abilities. We can’t afford to watch tomorrow’s leaders in China and India soar past us in academic achievement while we deny many of our own bright young people access to college. 

Finally, every student deserves equal access to higher education, but we allocate access in a manner that is far from equal. Our K through 12 education system does not graduate students who are equally prepared for college. Students who do have the potential to succeed are not given the information and tools they need to prepare a competitive application. When applications are evaluated, admissions officers often give a leg up to students who have been given a leg up their entire lives.
 
Enough paraphrasing myself, students around the country were hard at work this year coming up with policy solutions to increase socioeconomic diversity in higher education. I got a chance to present some Yale students’ work on university-based efforts to reach out to low-income high schoolers to overcome the information and advising gap. The icing on the cake came as I was walking out the door. Two friendly looking adults thanked me for my presentation and told me they learned a lot. I was in for a treat when I learned they were Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda.

 
Must be a sweet deal to be a congressperson from a seat so safe you can spend half a day at a conference listening to students give policy presentations. Kudos to Lofgren and Honda for coming out. They didn’t even give a speech or bring a press crew with them. I learned later that night from a Hill staffer that Honda wins the congressional stand-up comedy contest every year and is a karaoke fiend.

I hope Mark Foley didn't ruin my chance for a duet.