1 00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:10,000 What's up everyone? You're listening to DS106 Radio. DS106 for life. 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:22,800 Hey everybody. This is Tim Clark and Taylor is with me here. Hello. And welcome 3 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:31,760 to the next session. A real quick thanks to Dewitt's and Pate's. That was super fun. 4 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:40,080 And nice audio production there. Very atmospheric. That was a really neat session. 5 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:48,640 This one's going to be way worse, I promise. Entirely because of me. 6 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:56,560 But before we get started, my inspiration for this was I really liked the idea for a track 7 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:04,320 that allowed you to talk about the year that you've had. And the other thing that I really 8 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:11,920 wanted to do was something that I thought Paul Bond would want to listen to. So a shout out to 9 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:20,800 Paul. One of my DS106 and DS106 Radio heroes. He's a great DJ. He's a walking encyclopedia of good 10 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:29,600 music and local radio. So I thought I'd play some blues because I know from time to time he's jumped 11 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:37,360 on and turned me on to some really amazing blues and R&B artists. So I'm calling this the Austerity 12 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:44,800 Blues. I did a very little bit of research for this. So I noticed as I was sort of searching 13 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:49,760 around that there is a book called Austerity Blues that has to do with higher education. It was 14 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:58,720 written, I believe, in 2016. And it addressed the sort of defunding of higher education across large 15 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:04,720 university systems. So I think New York, California, and possibly Illinois. That's not what 16 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:17,200 this is. This is hopefully kind of a sound off show. I'm going to put a phone number in the 17 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:23,360 Discord channel here. And Taylor, what do you think? Are you up to give this a try? It might 18 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,800 not work at all. >> Yeah, I can test it. Yeah. 19 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:36,160 >> Or just to sort of ride this train with me. Okay, so the number is 267, and this is a US 20 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:47,200 number, 267-227-0106. And it took me so long to game the Google Voice ecosystem to get a phone 21 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:53,920 number that ended in 106. I'm really proud of that. So I hope that I can get someone at least 22 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:59,440 to call in here in a little while. We're not ready just yet. But once we open up the lines, 23 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:04,000 it would be really great. And I think we can pull it off. We'll see. If not, you know, 24 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:10,720 nothing ventured, nothing gained. Okay, so just for a little bit of context, my name is Tim Clark. 25 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:20,000 My official title is digital learning librarian. But I share with many of the folks over the last 26 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,920 couple of days, a sort of instructional technologist, instructional designer role, 27 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:31,120 as well as some librarian stuff. I oversee the Domain of One's Own project at the college where 28 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:35,920 I work, Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And I've been there in various 29 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:42,000 roles. I keep doing the same work. They just keep changing my title. I've been there for about 15 30 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,840 years. >> That sounds familiar, I think, for lots of people, I imagine. 31 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:54,400 >> Yeah. And we're a smallish private liberal arts school in eastern Pennsylvania, near New Jersey 32 00:03:54,400 --> 00:04:03,440 and New York. And there are lots of colleges and universities within our general vicinity, 33 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:10,720 which is a great thing, I think. But over the last couple of years, I think it's contributed 34 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:17,440 to this sense of competitiveness for what is perceived to be an ever shrinking pool of 35 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:22,080 college age students. And so one of the straw men that I'd like to kind of knock down 36 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:29,680 in this is talking about this notion of an enrollment cliff or a demographic cliff that's 37 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:35,760 been kicking around, at least in the United States, for a while. I would imagine this is 38 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:43,920 pretty much a U.S. centric sort of conversation. Hopefully, our friends elsewhere will find the 39 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:53,600 music, at the least, entertaining. So anyway, in the post-COVID sort of financial anxiety 40 00:04:53,600 --> 00:05:00,160 and with nearby college and university closings and mergers, that's sort of a national thing as 41 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:05,920 well. Again, this idea, what I think of as a sort of a fallacy around this idea of an enrollment 42 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:16,320 cliff. My school has kicked off a sort of new round of the austerity blues. And so I thought, 43 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:23,360 you know, I would draw on the blues for inspiration. And maybe if you all are experiencing 44 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:28,880 something similar to this out there, you might have some insights and some observations and 45 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:36,720 some strategies for coping with the austerity blues as well. Again, the number is 267-227-0106. 46 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:44,800 And just to sort of set the musical stage here, I thought we might listen to a blues song and 47 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:49,360 listen a little more closely than we might if we were just sort of driving or had music on in the 48 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:56,560 background. I'm not an expert on the blues. I appreciate them very much. I can count 12 bars. 49 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:03,600 That's about as far as I can go. And I can generally tell one style of blues from another, 50 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,360 you know, if it's boogie woogie or, you know, those kinds of things. 51 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:16,400 The thing about the blues that I appreciate the most, I think is, and this might be contrary to 52 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:21,440 what some folks impression of the blues is, I find it to be very uplifting. It's a source of 53 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:29,120 intelligent humor, resistance in the face of what I would consider nearly unimaginable hardship. 54 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:36,320 It can't be overstated that the blues like jazz and hip hop is one of the greatest cultural 55 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:42,080 contributions the United States has given to the world. And it's the African American musicians, 56 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:47,040 and particularly Southern African Americans, those who are part of the great black diaspora, 57 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:54,800 who invented and spread this musical form and made it central, really, I think, to the US 58 00:06:54,800 --> 00:07:02,160 musical experience. It's the ground stone, it's the cornerstone for bluegrass, for rock and roll, 59 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,280 for so many other forms and genres of music. 60 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:10,480 Almost any popular genre right now, honestly, and especially, particularly in Western hemisphere 61 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:16,240 music, you can root part of it at least back to the blues, if not most of it. It's amazing. 62 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:24,240 Yeah, yeah. I mean, it really, to me, pulling the call and response from West African music and 63 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:31,600 integrating that gospel music, it's really, I think, like you said, something that can't be 64 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:42,560 acknowledged enough. So I thought we would start with a song by Leroy Carr. He's on the piano and 65 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:49,440 the vocalist, it's called Big Four Blues. This song is about 100 years old. And one of the great 66 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:55,120 blues names I found, Scrapper Blackwell on guitar. So this one's for you, Paul. I hope you like it. 67 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:06,720 Big four block this morning, 68 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,640 Act V, break up day. 69 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:18,160 Big four block this morning, 70 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,000 Act V, break up day. 71 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:31,840 And it sounds so lonesome, 'cause you're taking my baby away. 72 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:41,760 Big four, big four, won't you please turn your train around? 73 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:52,240 Big four, big four, won't you please turn your train around? 74 00:08:52,240 --> 00:09:06,240 'Cause I sat all down and out with my head hung down. 75 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:10,240 I tried to be as good to that woman as one man could be. 76 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:20,160 I tried to be as good to that woman as one man could be. 77 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:30,160 And I mean it's a shame the way she went and left for me. 78 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:48,800 Yes, I'm drowning out, ain't got no money to ride no train. 79 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:50,800 Yes, I'm drowning out, ain't got no money to ride no train. 80 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:12,800 Yes, I'm drowning out, ain't got no money to ride no train. 81 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:14,800 Yes, I'm drowning out, ain't got no money to ride no train. 82 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:05,800 So what'd you think? 83 00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:12,480 First of all, I've never heard that one. 84 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,160 And I wouldn't call myself super knowledgeable about the blues, 85 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:16,680 but I enjoy it a lot. 86 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:23,720 And saxophone is my main instrument that I play. 87 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,560 And so I like playing it, but I'm, again, not very knowledgeable. 88 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:33,000 But I love blues guitar, specifically, I will say. 89 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:38,280 It's probably my favorite, especially older blues stuff. 90 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,120 So yeah, loved it. 91 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:41,080 Yeah. 92 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:50,480 So I thought, from a close listening, I'm just really curious to the other 93 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,040 listeners out there, do you feel it? 94 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,840 Do you feel the familiarity of the form? 95 00:11:54,840 --> 00:12:00,200 Do you know how to anticipate maybe the chord changes or the way, 96 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:05,760 at the end of 12 bars, it sort of walks back around to the beginning? 97 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,680 Even the way it sort of resolves at the end of the song 98 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:11,280 is very comforting and familiar. 99 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:13,440 And I think that's the great contradiction. 100 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:19,920 That's the magic of the blues, is the subject matter can be really sad, 101 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:20,440 right? 102 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,200 He's lost the love of his life. 103 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,000 She's jumped on a train, and he doesn't have the money 104 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:26,440 to buy a ticket to follow her. 105 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,040 And he's asking, hey, can you just look the other way 106 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,480 and let me hop on this train? 107 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:35,080 And the brakeman is turning him away and saying, get out of here. 108 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:36,840 That's a really sad story, right? 109 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,920 It's complex. 110 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:50,680 But because you're, I feel, sharing this story with the singer, 111 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:53,360 you're kind of sort of shouldering it together. 112 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:58,360 And also, the familiarity of blues music 113 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,400 means that you're participating in a way that's different, I think, 114 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:04,640 than other forms of music, where you really 115 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,240 don't know what's coming next. 116 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:11,400 Or there are more possibilities. 117 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:15,200 It's a larger sort of-- 118 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,880 there's not just left and right that you can choose from, 119 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,640 like a choose-your-own-adventure, right? 120 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:22,400 Well, absolutely. 121 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,120 And building on that, a huge part of blues 122 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,440 is that it's improvisational, right? 123 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,240 Or parts of it can be, right? 124 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:35,960 So either, obviously, like examples of music 125 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,600 that have solo sections in them, of course, right? 126 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:47,120 But even the songs themselves are likely built on improvisations 127 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:52,080 that are made possible by that familiar and easy-to-grasp 128 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:53,880 structure you're talking about. 129 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,480 And I think that itself has-- 130 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:58,200 I think there's-- 131 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:02,400 I mean, you can sit here and draw a million parallels between that 132 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,920 and how education works, right? 133 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:15,640 In ways that I love and I think speak to even some fundamental things 134 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:17,960 we know about learning and how people learn. 135 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:18,520 Oh, yeah. 136 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,280 Yeah, that's absolutely true. 137 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:26,920 And I think the major sort of thing I'd like to sort of place out there 138 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,640 to kick around for the next 45 minutes or so 139 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,320 is this notion of catharsis, right? 140 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:38,520 How that feels to us, to feel connected, to feel like we can anticipate. 141 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:45,280 And even just as a listener, there's a participatory sense to the blues 142 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,400 that I think is different from other genres of music. 143 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,600 And so piggybacking on top of that, if you're 144 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,480 at an institution that's stuck in the austerity blues, 145 00:14:55,480 --> 00:15:00,160 if you're hearing things like tuition-driven institution 146 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:05,120 or maximizing return on investment and all 147 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,680 of these sorts of neoliberal buzzwords that 148 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,480 tend to find their way into the conversation when you come down 149 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:19,720 with the austerity flu, when your institution is in the austerity blues, 150 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:24,080 that notion of call and response, knowing what to anticipate, 151 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:29,280 knowing how to improvise within the framework of what you're provided, 152 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:34,040 all of those things I think are really helpful strategies and lessons 153 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:40,880 for how to keep your spirits up, how to maybe not take the bait for some 154 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:46,640 of the things that an administration might ask of a faculty or a staff, 155 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:53,320 how to prepare in advance if you're seemingly caught off guard with something 156 00:15:53,320 --> 00:16:00,760 that's happening, if you recognize it within the sort of paradigm of the blues, 157 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:02,320 then you know what the response is. 158 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,800 You know how to be improvisational in those moments 159 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,840 because you're following along the pattern that 160 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:14,000 has repeated itself in higher education many times over the last 35, 40 years. 161 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,680 That's kind of where I'm coming from with the rest of this. 162 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,920 But I have talked an awful lot. 163 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,840 Does that seem like a pretty good setup, Taylor, for the next few songs? 164 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:25,320 Yeah. 165 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:26,200 All right. 166 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:27,040 So let's do it. 167 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:31,560 I'm going to play a song by a man named Corey Harris. 168 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:36,720 He is a Bates College graduate, another fine, small liberal arts school in Maine. 169 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,200 He is also the recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant. 170 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,600 And he is an incredible musician. 171 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,720 So we're going to hear "Fish Ain't Biting" from Corey Harris. 172 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:55,480 - Check it. 173 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:57,520 Give a man a-- 174 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:58,720 fish. 175 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:00,440 Teach him how to fish. 176 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,080 Bring the whole school to his door. 177 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:07,120 But what's he going to do when the water dry up and the fish ain't biting no 178 00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:08,120 more? 179 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:09,120 Hm. 180 00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:12,600 [MUSIC - COREY HARRIS, "FISH AIN'T BITING"] 181 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:32,520 [MUSIC - COREY HARRIS, "FISH AIN'T BITING"] 182 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:34,520 Fish ain't biting. 183 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,000 Fish ain't biting 'round here no more. 184 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,480 Well, fish ain't biting. 185 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:47,440 Fish ain't biting no more. 186 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,920 They're taking up the catfish and grinding up the bone. 187 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:58,880 Well, I was down East Texas, Jefferson Town. 188 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:00,880 I had no catfish. 189 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:02,880 Had to turn around. 190 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,360 Well, fish ain't biting. 191 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:07,360 Fish ain't biting no more. 192 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:14,840 Taking up the catfish and grinding up the bone. 193 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:21,840 Well, the Reverend Worm got him a catfish farm. 194 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:26,320 He said, boy, hook the worm and let the line on down. 195 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,320 Fish ain't biting, baby. 196 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,320 Fish ain't biting no more. 197 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:37,800 Taking up the catfish and grinding up the bone. 198 00:18:38,720 --> 00:19:04,200 [MUSIC - COREY HARRIS, "RED RIVER RUNNING DEEP"] 199 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,160 Red river running deep and wide. 200 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:11,640 See my baby on the other side. 201 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:13,640 Well, fish ain't biting. 202 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:15,640 Fish ain't biting no more. 203 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:29,120 Baby, pay my back. 204 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:34,600 Baby, baby, leave Texas on the next bay. 205 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:36,600 Fish ain't biting. 206 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,600 Fish ain't biting no more. 207 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:46,080 They're taking up the catfish and grinding up the bone. 208 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:51,560 Fish ain't biting. 209 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,560 Fish ain't biting. 210 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,560 Fish ain't biting round head no more. 211 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:02,480 Fish ain't biting no more. 212 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,480 All right now. 213 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:09,480 They're taking up the catfish and grinding up the bone. 214 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:18,480 Fish ain't biting. 215 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,960 [MUSIC - COREY HARRIS, "RED RIVER RUNNING DEEP"] 216 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:26,840 [MUSIC - COREY HARRIS, "RED RIVER RUNNING DEEP"] 217 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:30,840 I never had a pocket full of money. 218 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,840 I never had a ruby red ring. 219 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:41,320 All I ever had was you, babe, to sit and listen to me sing. 220 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:47,320 I've got the blues, the empty pocket blues. 221 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,800 Well, I never had a barrel full of money. 222 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:58,800 I never had a big head of land. 223 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:05,800 All I ever had was you, babe, and that's a fact. 224 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:11,280 I've got the blues, the empty pocket blues. 225 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:23,760 Some people got barrels of money, bushels of ruby red rings. 226 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,760 But they ain't got a man like mine, 227 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:30,240 and they don't know how to sing. 228 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:35,720 I've got the blues, the empty pocket blues. 229 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:43,720 Now, some say the blues are sorrowful. 230 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:48,680 Some say the blues are sad. 231 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,160 But when I sing the blues to you, 232 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,640 they come out feeling glad. 233 00:21:54,640 --> 00:22:00,640 I've got the blues, the empty pocket blues. 234 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:08,120 Now, don't put your money in a barrel. 235 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:13,600 Don't waste it on a ruby red ring. 236 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:16,520 Give it all to your own little girl 237 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,680 to fix your dinner while you sing. 238 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:27,960 I've got the blues, the empty pocket blues. 239 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:33,920 I've got the blues, the empty pocket blues. 240 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:42,440 All right, welcome back. 241 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:52,240 That was Odetta, the one and only remarkable queen 242 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:56,480 of the blues, as I believe she's been called, 243 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,840 National Medal of the Arts and Humanities recipient, 244 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,200 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Library of Congress, 245 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:08,560 numerous honorary degrees, and a proud graduate of Los Angeles 246 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,920 City College with empty pocket blues. 247 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:17,640 So let's see if anyone's brave enough to call in. 248 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:22,600 If not, I've got a couple more songs to play, 249 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:27,560 and we can take it from there. 250 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:31,240 I do want to be clear that I'm not 251 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:38,080 trying to make light of the serious state of finances 252 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,960 for many colleges and universities. 253 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,600 Here's just a real quick roll call 254 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:46,320 from my region, the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. 255 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,200 In 2022, these are all post-COVID mergers or closures. 256 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:52,760 University of the Sciences merged 257 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:54,840 with St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. 258 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,920 2,420 students were affected. 259 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:03,640 In 2023, Bloomfield College in New Jersey closed abruptly. 260 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,320 1,300 students thereabouts were affected. 261 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,160 And then in 2024, Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences 262 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:15,320 also merged with St. Joseph's University, 1,800-plus students. 263 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,720 St. John's University, Staten Island, 264 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,040 closed due to low enrollment. 265 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,040 861 students were affected. 266 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,120 The College of St. Rose in Albany, New York, 267 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:31,560 closed because of financial insolvency, 2,786 students. 268 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:33,660 Wells College in Aurora, New York, 269 00:24:33,660 --> 00:24:38,160 also financial difficulties, 357 students. 270 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,040 And Cabrini University in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, 271 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:42,960 right down the road from where I live, 272 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:49,140 closed for financial reasons, 2,267 students were affected. 273 00:24:49,140 --> 00:24:52,600 I think the one that shook our area the most, 274 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:56,680 though, was the very abrupt closing of University 275 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,720 of the Arts in Philadelphia. 276 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:01,720 Over 1,300 students were impacted, 277 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:07,480 many after they had already paid their deposits and tuition. 278 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,160 And they cited accreditation, enrollment, 279 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:13,240 and financial challenges. 280 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:15,160 Lots of other colleges and universities 281 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:21,640 have stepped up to be especially welcoming and accommodating 282 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,080 with respect to transfers of credits and courses 283 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,320 and those kinds of things. 284 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,720 This is a significant issue. 285 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:36,440 But I think we need to place at least partial responsibility 286 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:37,840 where I feel it lies. 287 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:42,000 And that's the significant disinvestment 288 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:47,280 on part of state and federal governments in higher education 289 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:48,920 broadly. 290 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,720 I think one of the calls and responses in the Austerity 291 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,600 Blues should be that education is a public good. 292 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:59,520 And it benefits all of us, all of society. 293 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:05,640 And the financial burdens that these colleges and universities 294 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,640 are carrying have disproportionately 295 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,320 been placed upon the students themselves, 296 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,440 borrowing increasing amounts of money, 297 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,440 making it much more challenging for them to start their lives. 298 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,240 And some would argue that that is by design. 299 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,920 So I just wanted to put that out there 300 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,400 and to acknowledge those facts so 301 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,120 that I wouldn't be misinterpreted as, say, 302 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:38,080 maybe glib or paying too little attention to the challenges 303 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,880 that colleges and universities face. 304 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,720 Any thoughts about that, Taylor? 305 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,160 Yeah, you see it all over, too. 306 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,760 There's even just in-- 307 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:52,880 I'm in Wisconsin. 308 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:55,440 And there's been plenty of that even in Wisconsin, 309 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,240 which there's definitely less concentration of schools 310 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,680 here than there is in your neck of the woods. 311 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,920 But it's hitting hard, I think, everywhere. 312 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,000 And it's hitting hard specifically-- 313 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:12,040 well, not specifically, but I will say especially 314 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,240 the smaller schools, I think. 315 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:21,800 And it's hard, because it's a number-- 316 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,520 there's a lot of reason-- 317 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:25,720 you mentioned before, right? 318 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,640 Hey, we're experiencing lower enrollment. 319 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:35,440 But there is a lot of specific factors, too, right? 320 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,560 And it's very difficult or maybe complicated, 321 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:40,520 I guess, to be paying attention to this stuff, 322 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,200 because you're at any point dealing 323 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:49,160 with a mixture of sadness around the state of things, 324 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:54,760 anger at possibly leadership or any number of people 325 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:56,320 or government or-- 326 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,120 yeah, there's a lot of things that you can be-- 327 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:00,080 you can place that-- 328 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:05,320 places you can place that anger, which that's 329 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,160 what the blues is about, is that complicated malaise 330 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:09,720 of feelings, I think. 331 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:17,320 But yeah, I don't think you're being glib at all. 332 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,960 I think there-- 333 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,760 I love that you're bringing the blues into this conversation. 334 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,760 And this conversation that we're having 335 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:29,600 as folks who work in and around higher ed, I think, constantly 336 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:33,480 and recognizing of-- 337 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:39,880 we need an output in some ways that isn't just wallowing in it, 338 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:40,640 I think. 339 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:41,360 Yeah. 340 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:42,160 Yeah. 341 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:43,600 Absolutely. 342 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,800 And we need to share each other's burdens. 343 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,280 And I think that's also what the blues is about. 344 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:54,320 But as we'll hear in a couple of songs coming up, 345 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,800 the blues is also about finding creative ways 346 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:02,320 of getting around what seem to be intractable obstacles. 347 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,120 So let's do that. 348 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,920 Let's listen to one more song. 349 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,840 This is "Gimme a Penny" by Big Mama Thornton. 350 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:15,800 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 351 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:19,280 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 352 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:25,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 353 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 354 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:44,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 355 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:51,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 356 00:29:51,760 --> 00:30:00,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 357 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:03,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 358 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:14,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 359 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:23,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 360 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 361 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:52,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 362 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 363 00:30:55,760 --> 00:31:10,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 364 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:21,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 365 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 366 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:43,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 367 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 368 00:31:46,760 --> 00:32:04,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 369 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 370 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:49,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 371 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 372 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:18,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 373 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:22,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 374 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:35,760 [MUSIC - BIG MAMA THORNTON, "GIMME A PENNY"] 375 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:42,760 All right, y'all. 376 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:45,760 In my defense, the mute button is very, very tiny. 377 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:47,760 [LAUGHTER] 378 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:50,760 We have Joe on the phone. 379 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:52,760 Can everybody hear Joe? 380 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:56,760 It wouldn't be DS-106 if we didn't find some dead air. 381 00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:58,760 I can-- yeah, we can hear him. 382 00:33:58,760 --> 00:33:59,760 All right, so-- 383 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:01,760 Or some non-dead air. 384 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:02,760 Right, yeah. 385 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:04,760 All right, so I'm 75%. 386 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:06,760 That's passing grade. 387 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:07,760 All right. 388 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,760 Hey, Joe, how's it going? 389 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:10,760 Pretty well. 390 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:11,760 How are you? 391 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,760 Oh, I'm great. 392 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:14,760 It's good to hear you. 393 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:20,760 Like, you bear some responsibility for this habit 394 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:25,760 that I formed of DJing on DS-106 in the attendant music 395 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:27,760 collection. 396 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,760 Because there was a set of sets that you and Daniel were doing 397 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,760 that really convinced me I could do this and would enjoy it. 398 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:35,760 So I appreciate that. 399 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:36,760 Oh, yeah. 400 00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,760 Well, guilty, I guess. 401 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:41,760 Yeah. 402 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:47,760 But I hope I've developed this into something like a thought. 403 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,760 I think one of the really useful things about the blues 404 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,760 is that it marks that communal experience. 405 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,760 I think that-- and whether that's, like, 406 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:06,760 specifically dealing with segregation or racism or poverty 407 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:11,760 or more broadly-- I remember one of those rock documentaries 408 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,760 that came out in the '90s featured-- I think it was Rufus 409 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:17,760 Thomas saying, look, if you come home and the house is dark 410 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:21,760 and the pans are empty and your woman is gone, 411 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,760 I don't care what color you are, you have the blues. 412 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:30,760 So I think there's a lot in the music that gives a communal 413 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:31,760 experience. 414 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:35,760 And I think one of the things I see from the position 415 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:40,760 of a relatively privileged small school that 416 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:46,760 has had some enrollment trouble lately, 417 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:51,760 I think we could use some austerity blues so that we don't 418 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,760 fall into the trap of thinking, well, it's because they did 419 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:55,760 something wrong. 420 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:57,760 It's because they're different. 421 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:01,760 Or it's not coming for us because we're special. 422 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:07,760 I think finding some ways to actually get into it 423 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:11,760 would be healthy for us so that we 424 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:14,760 don't hit any of those traps. 425 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:16,760 Yeah, that's a great point. 426 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,760 You know, I should point out that 80% 427 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:25,760 of the college and university closings between 2004 and 2020 428 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,760 were for-profit institutions. 429 00:36:28,760 --> 00:36:31,760 So the vast majority of school closings 430 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:35,760 that have left students with debt and no degree 431 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:41,760 have not been the non-profit schools, 432 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:44,760 whether state or private. 433 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,760 Or I should say public or private. 434 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:51,760 That's one thing to put out there. 435 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:55,760 But it's a real thing, I think, because it's 436 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:00,760 been documented so well in Tressie McMillan Cotton's book. 437 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:04,760 That also was a burden that was disproportionately 438 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:09,760 shouldered by first-generation students, black students, 439 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:10,760 and especially black women. 440 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:12,760 Right? 441 00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:16,760 You know, I guess the other thing that I would say 442 00:37:16,760 --> 00:37:20,760 is just over half of students impacted by a school closure 443 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:24,760 never re-enroll in college. 444 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:28,760 And that's heartbreaking to me. 445 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,760 And 52.9% is the number that I pulled. 446 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:33,760 Wow. 447 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:37,760 So that's another thing, I think, 448 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:44,760 for all of higher education to acknowledge and to work around. 449 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:45,760 Yeah. 450 00:37:45,760 --> 00:37:47,760 Well, I think that's going to be one of the things that's 451 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,760 really interesting regionally. 452 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:56,760 And I think-- 453 00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:57,260 All right. 454 00:37:57,260 --> 00:37:58,760 Sorry about that, folks. 455 00:37:58,760 --> 00:38:02,760 I think I was just trying to push this thing a little too 456 00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:04,760 hard. 457 00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:07,760 But I do appreciate Joe calling in. 458 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:12,760 And hopefully you all got to hear the excellent points he 459 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:14,760 was making. 460 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,760 It took me a minute or two to catch 461 00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:19,760 that things had locked up. 462 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:24,760 So while I try to put everything back together here, 463 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:30,760 I'm going to jump back in and play another tune. 464 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:35,760 And then I'll see if I can't get Taylor back on the line. 465 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:37,760 Again, my apologies. 466 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:39,760 Flying a little too close to the sun, I think. 467 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:42,760 But "Money is the Name of the Game" by Coco Taylor 468 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:45,760 should make everything a little better. 469 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:52,760 [VOCALIZING] 470 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:11,760 It's a pity. 471 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:27,760 No time in dirty sheets. 472 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:33,260 Oh. 473 00:39:33,260 --> 00:39:38,760 It's a pity. 474 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:40,760 It's a pity. 475 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:54,760 Oh, dirty, dirty shame. 476 00:39:54,760 --> 00:40:03,760 How can a poor girl make it? 477 00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:04,760 Yeah. 478 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:21,760 I said when money is the name of the game. 479 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:30,760 I used to have good credit all over town. 480 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:40,760 Signed my name, put no money down. 481 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:45,760 Things done got tough, y'all. 482 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:51,760 And Coco needs some. 483 00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:59,760 Now my name won't buy me a piece of the pie. 484 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:04,760 A piece of paper, come on. 485 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:05,760 It's a pity. 486 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:19,760 Go down in dirty shame. 487 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:31,760 Tell me how can a poor girl make it? 488 00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:48,760 I said when money is the name of the game. 489 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:52,760 [VOCALIZING] 490 00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:31,760 [VOCALIZING] 491 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:34,760 [VOCALIZING] 492 00:42:54,760 --> 00:43:04,760 Sitting here thinking of the good times all have passed. 493 00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:15,760 If I could turn back the time, I know my luck would last. 494 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:16,760 It's a pity. 495 00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:30,760 Go down in dirty shame. 496 00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:41,760 Tell me how can a poor girl make it? 497 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:55,760 I said when money is the name of the game. 498 00:43:55,760 --> 00:44:01,760 [VOCALIZING] 499 00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:12,760 [VOCALIZING] 500 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:17,760 [VOCALIZING] 501 00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:21,760 It's a dirty shame. 502 00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:26,760 I killed someone. 503 00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:31,760 It's a pity. 504 00:44:31,760 --> 00:44:36,760 Oh, pity. 505 00:44:36,760 --> 00:44:41,760 It's a pity. 506 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:42,760 It's a pity. 507 00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:51,760 It's a dirty, dirty shame. 508 00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:57,760 I need money. 509 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:01,760 That's what I want. 510 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:07,760 I need money, baby. 511 00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:11,760 I need money. 512 00:45:11,760 --> 00:45:16,760 That's the name of the game. 513 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:36,760 All right, well, thanks for sticking through that little 514 00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:37,760 meltdown with me. 515 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:38,760 I really appreciate it. 516 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:43,760 And yeah, so I'm just going to talk for a minute. 517 00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:45,760 We've got about 12 minutes left. 518 00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:47,760 I want to play one or maybe two more songs. 519 00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:51,760 I just want to talk a little bit about my experience at my college. 520 00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:57,760 So we come out of COVID, and I think at the urging of the board 521 00:45:57,760 --> 00:46:08,760 of trustees, a fancy consultancy was hired to basically give us a 522 00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:15,760 health check as an institution from a competitiveness perspective. 523 00:46:15,760 --> 00:46:20,760 And unsurprising to me, after we paid them money to sort of give 524 00:46:20,760 --> 00:46:24,760 us this health check, they came back and told us that there was 525 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:29,760 an urgent situation that just absolutely had to be dealt with and 526 00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:33,760 handed us off to other consultants who would then help us with 527 00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:37,760 those issues that they had identified. 528 00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:44,760 Again, talking about the enrollment cliff, what I think of as a 529 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:50,760 fallacy, and the reason that I say that is the national percentage. 530 00:46:50,760 --> 00:46:55,760 And this is February 2023, US Census Bureau and American Community 531 00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:57,760 Survey one-year estimate data. 532 00:46:57,760 --> 00:47:01,760 So this is about as good as you can get in the United States on 533 00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:03,760 levels of educational attainment. 534 00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:11,760 And they tend to, the Census Bureau tends to look at 25 or older folks. 535 00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:15,760 The national average of having completed a four-year degree is 536 00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:20,760 37.7% of the population 25 years or older. 537 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:25,760 That includes four-year degree and advanced degrees. 538 00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:26,760 Okay. 539 00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:31,760 If you look at some college and associate degrees, that number 540 00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:35,760 jumps up to nationally, I want to say it's in the high 40s, low 50s, 541 00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:37,760 which is really, really great. 542 00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:42,760 But Allentown, the city where our college is, that number for 543 00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:49,760 four-year degree educational attainment for 25 and older is 20.3%. 544 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:54,760 And Allentown's demographics and composition has been changing a lot 545 00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:56,760 over the last 15 or 20 years. 546 00:47:56,760 --> 00:48:02,760 We have an increasing, growing and vibrant community of Latino folk. 547 00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:10,760 And I don't think that it is ethically defensible to have a college 548 00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:14,760 that takes the advice of consultants to say, we need to do better to 549 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:21,760 compete for this ever shrinking pool of privileged, financially well-off, 550 00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:27,760 predominantly white folks who live in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic 551 00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:30,760 states, which was sort of the message that we got. 552 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:36,760 We're not competing for this apparently shrinking pool of folks who would 553 00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:40,760 be our first choice to have as students. 554 00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:44,760 Instead of taking that initiative and taking that energy and those 555 00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:48,760 resources to say, lobby the state of Pennsylvania, which is second to 556 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:51,760 last in investment in higher education. 557 00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:56,760 That's changed a lot under our new governor, but the early round of 558 00:48:56,760 --> 00:49:01,760 resource allocation has gone as it should, in my opinion, primarily to 559 00:49:01,760 --> 00:49:04,760 community colleges across the state of Pennsylvania. 560 00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:08,760 But that still can't immediately address what has been decade after 561 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:17,760 decade of disinvestment and so on for higher education. 562 00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:23,760 So this notion of a enrollment cliff or a demographic cliff, I think, 563 00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:28,760 is disingenuous at best because what it's really talking about are folks 564 00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:33,760 whose parents have college degrees, who are graduating from schools 565 00:49:33,760 --> 00:49:38,760 whether public or private, that tend to feed the higher education system 566 00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:40,760 in the United States. 567 00:49:40,760 --> 00:49:42,760 Okay. 568 00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:49,760 The last thing that I'll say is all of these initiatives that have spun 569 00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:52,760 out of what we learned from the consultants have been to revise our 570 00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:56,760 curriculum, which involved nearly every member of the faculty and much 571 00:49:56,760 --> 00:50:02,760 of our staff in a sprint that took place in a single academic year. 572 00:50:02,760 --> 00:50:10,760 And shuffling our advising, dramatic changes to how we do first-year 573 00:50:10,760 --> 00:50:19,760 advising, and then also looking at potential lineouts of different majors 574 00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:23,760 and minors, potentially even departments down the line, all of the kinds 575 00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:31,760 of things that one would expect would be the advice that comes once you 576 00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:35,760 catch the austerity blues at your institution. 577 00:50:35,760 --> 00:50:38,760 And the other thing that sort of followed after that is we've lost a lot of 578 00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:40,760 faculty and staff, right? 579 00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:44,760 We've even had, for the first time in the 15 years that I've been there, 580 00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:51,760 a number of layoffs that come abruptly and really impact the morale and 581 00:50:51,760 --> 00:50:55,760 good faith, I think, of the faculty and staff that work at a college 582 00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:57,760 or a university. 583 00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:00,760 So we need to look out for one another. 584 00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:05,760 Joe's comment, I hope everyone heard it, about how the blues is a communal 585 00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:11,760 activity, the catharsis of the blues, recognizing the patterns of the blues, 586 00:51:11,760 --> 00:51:18,760 how to respond when you're given an opening to take that improvisational run, 587 00:51:18,760 --> 00:51:25,760 and how to sort of work within the ensemble of the blues, I think, 588 00:51:25,760 --> 00:51:28,760 has a lot of application. 589 00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:33,760 If we sit and drink our coffee or tea and have our quiet moment in the morning 590 00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:39,760 and prepare for how we will respond to hearing that such and such might be 591 00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:51,760 leaving or that we're overworked, which is a legitimate sort of situation, 592 00:51:51,760 --> 00:52:00,760 we need to be able to respond in a way that can recognize and acknowledge 593 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:05,760 the blues, the austerity blues, but also present a kind of a creative way 594 00:52:05,760 --> 00:52:07,760 out of it. 595 00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:14,760 And with that, I would like to play another tune, another of the great, 596 00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:17,760 great blues names that I came across. 597 00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:24,760 This is Suitcase Blues for all the faculty and staff, my dear colleagues who 598 00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:27,760 are now no longer my colleagues. 599 00:52:27,760 --> 00:52:32,760 This is by Sippy Wallace. 600 00:52:32,760 --> 00:52:39,760 And here we go. 601 00:52:39,760 --> 00:52:41,760 Any second now. 602 00:52:53,760 --> 00:53:02,760 Well, my suitcase is packed, trunk is undone. 603 00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:07,760 You know by that I ain't gonna be here long. 604 00:53:07,760 --> 00:53:20,760 But I'm scared to go down that big road by myself. 605 00:53:20,760 --> 00:53:33,760 Lord, I'm scared to go down that big road by myself. 606 00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:46,760 I love you, baby, but your wings I just can't stand. 607 00:53:59,760 --> 00:54:12,760 So you get you another woman, I'll get me another man. 608 00:54:12,760 --> 00:54:25,760 'Cause there ain't no loving, there ain't no getting along. 609 00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:53,760 Now, you know, baby, you've always treated me wrong. 610 00:54:53,760 --> 00:55:00,760 No more baby, she runs me crazy. 611 00:55:00,760 --> 00:55:07,760 I ain't got me no more baby, Lord. 612 00:55:07,760 --> 00:55:18,760 I ain't got me no more baby, Lord. 613 00:55:18,760 --> 00:55:32,760 Lord, I ain't got me no more baby now. 614 00:55:32,760 --> 00:55:45,760 I'm leaving you, honey, but it almost breaks my heart. 615 00:55:45,760 --> 00:55:58,760 I'm leaving you, papa, but it almost breaks my heart. 616 00:55:58,760 --> 00:56:12,760 But remember sometimes that the best of friends must part. 617 00:56:12,760 --> 00:56:25,760 I hear the whistles blowing, I guess I'll be on my way. 618 00:56:38,760 --> 00:56:50,760 Give me my suitcase and I'll see you some other day. 619 00:56:50,760 --> 00:57:00,760 Suitcase Blues, Sippy Wallace. 620 00:57:00,760 --> 00:57:07,760 And as I'm getting ready to wrap things up, I'm just going to close with this. 621 00:57:07,760 --> 00:57:13,760 Blond Willie Johnson's Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground 622 00:57:13,760 --> 00:57:19,760 was etched into two golden records called the Voyager Golden Record 623 00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:25,760 that were launched into space in 1977, one on each of the Voyager spacecraft. 624 00:57:25,760 --> 00:57:29,760 And both are now billions of miles from the sun, 625 00:57:29,760 --> 00:57:36,760 one 15 billion miles plus and the other 12 billion miles away from Earth. 626 00:57:36,760 --> 00:57:40,760 Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object. 627 00:57:40,760 --> 00:57:48,760 And on both of those spacecraft is a blues song, a beautiful blues song, 628 00:57:48,760 --> 00:57:52,760 Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground. 629 00:57:52,760 --> 00:58:01,760 So that just helps me to put into perspective the true contribution that the blues has made, 630 00:58:01,760 --> 00:58:04,760 not just in our culture, but across the world. 631 00:58:04,760 --> 00:58:09,760 And if you get a chance to listen to that song, I'd encourage you to do it. 632 00:58:09,760 --> 00:58:14,760 Anyway, thanks everyone for your time and for listening. 633 00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:18,760 Sorry about that one little glitch, and I hope we can do it again soon.