Here’s an excerpt of a letter to the editor written by University of Arizona Senior Soo Chang that was recently published in the University of Arizona Daily Wildcat newspaper:
Public Service Academy would help civilians serve their country
Everyone’s heard about the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy and the Military Academy. All of these great institutions work to help the national security of our country. But, what about the men and women who want to serve at home? The people who long to serve as civilians in the public sector?
In March 2007, Congress introduced a bill to create a U.S. Public Service Academy. Students who would attend this Academy would receive four years of subsidized education in return for five years of service in the community. Now, these people would become public school teachers, firefighters, policemen, relief effort workers, etc. A large majority of our workers go into the private sector because of school debt. The average student is $20,000 in debt after they graduate from college, as of 2007. We are also facing what is called a “federal brain drain” - meaning that more than 40 percent of all government workers are eligible for retirement in the next three years! What does this mean? Our public sector is slowly deteriorating. In the midst of this budget crisis, I believe that we as students of UA can relate to all the other students across this country who are facing similar monetary problems…
But think about this symbolically: an Academy that embodies civic virtue and community service, to cultivate young people who will be experts in their fields, to represent the U.S. public sector. I urge you all to sign the online petition if you believe in education and in the virtue of service.
More at the link below (just scroll down to the bottom of the page):
