Spring Break
Klamath Falls colleges give Oregonians second chance
Joce DeWitt
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Forum
It's impossible to go a day without hearing about the suffering economy. What America is experiencing right now seems illusory to some students in the OSU bubble, but the fact that our economy is horrible, much like it was during the Great Depression, is all too real.
Luckily, an amazing opportunity has presented itself to some unfortunate, recently unemployed citizens of the state of Oregon.
In a city of about 20,000, the rise of unemployment and the drop of the nation's markets have hit the people of Klamath Falls just as hard, if not harder. The only difference between this city and the next is how they have chosen to act now to fix what many consider a root of the present problem: education.
The March 25 issue of The Oregonian published a story on how two Klamath Falls colleges - the Oregon Institute of Technology and Klamath Community College - announced last week that any resident of Oregon who has been laid off since the start of October 2008 can attend spring term classes at both institutions for free.
This program is still in development, and students at KCC have until April 13 to apply for the program. Obviously, some details are still being worked out, but at least the idea has been released to the public and has received a general grateful response.
And well, why wouldn't it?
Just imagine yourself as one of the people who lost their job within the past six months, working one day and unemployed the next. Until one small Oregon town launched this program, opportunities seemed to run out as soon as these people were "let go," until suddenly going back to school became an option.
Though the two schools are not moving in the exact same direction - the program at KCC is offered to anyone who lost their full, part-time, or seasonal employment, while OIT is only offering free classes to those who lost full-time jobs - it's safe to say that both will have higher enrollment because of the program, even if capacity is limited.
Luckily, an amazing opportunity has presented itself to some unfortunate, recently unemployed citizens of the state of Oregon.
In a city of about 20,000, the rise of unemployment and the drop of the nation's markets have hit the people of Klamath Falls just as hard, if not harder. The only difference between this city and the next is how they have chosen to act now to fix what many consider a root of the present problem: education.
The March 25 issue of The Oregonian published a story on how two Klamath Falls colleges - the Oregon Institute of Technology and Klamath Community College - announced last week that any resident of Oregon who has been laid off since the start of October 2008 can attend spring term classes at both institutions for free.
This program is still in development, and students at KCC have until April 13 to apply for the program. Obviously, some details are still being worked out, but at least the idea has been released to the public and has received a general grateful response.
And well, why wouldn't it?
Just imagine yourself as one of the people who lost their job within the past six months, working one day and unemployed the next. Until one small Oregon town launched this program, opportunities seemed to run out as soon as these people were "let go," until suddenly going back to school became an option.
Though the two schools are not moving in the exact same direction - the program at KCC is offered to anyone who lost their full, part-time, or seasonal employment, while OIT is only offering free classes to those who lost full-time jobs - it's safe to say that both will have higher enrollment because of the program, even if capacity is limited.
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