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So David. Is it possible to dive deeper into the reason why local communities do not appreciate the institutions of higher learning that they have?

It's so funny. DC has the second worst school system in the US, yet some of the best private higher education. And what happens? Fenty gets tossed out for daring to fire bad teachers, and every single university is opposed for everything by its neighborhood. This situation makes no sense on whatever logical grounds.

When GW's new president stepped up, he was surprised to find that GW as the largest non-government employer in DC has no regular contacts with the city. This is weird.

So, why is it that locals oppose universities? Why are politicians not proud of the fine education in their jurisdictions? I sometimes wonder if DCs council members would be able to just name all universities in the District.

Shockingly to some, DC is a real science city. We have a bunch of very good universities attending to very different demographics, the some of the best museums in the world doing research, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and some of the most important government labs in the nation (or world): NIH, NIST, NASA(-Goddard), NRL, the Naval Observatory, and whatever I'm forgetting.

There are very few cities that have that. And yet, all we hear are complaints. Boohoo, students like to party (a jealousy problem of boring people who don't get to party anymore). Boohoo, universities are growing (and creating more high-paying jobs). Boohoo, students want to live close to school (very frustrating for people who spent hours stuck in traffic while commuting).

It just does not make sense.

by Jasper on Jan 18, 2011 8:50 pm • link • report