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campusreview.com.au
financially better off than those who never
attempt one.
The median Australian who started a
bachelor course yet didn’t complete it
earns $7500 more than peers who’ve never
entered a university campus, according to
Michael Luckman and Andrew Harvey.
Drawing on ABS statistics, they further
found that the yearly income of non-
completers was only 9 per cent lower than
that of completers.
They say their findings demonstrate that
the stigma around university ‘dropouts’ – whose rates have remained steady over
decades – should be erased.
“While it remains financially beneficial
to complete a bachelor’s degree, the
perceived losses incurred by taxpayers
from non-completion do not appear to
be as severe as may have been expected,”
Luckman said.
Around one million Australians have only
partially completed a bachelor’s degree,
yet according to Luckman and Harvey’s
previous research, roughly half return to
complete their degrees within eight years.
“Our analysis shows the student life
cycle is more complex than is generally
assumed,” they said.
“Withdrawal is more often associated
with personal factors, [so] some level of
discontinuation is inevitable.
“Given changes to the way many
people now experience higher education,
governments and higher education
institutions need a greater understanding of
non-linear pathways to university as well as
the interim stages between enrolments.
“They also need to address unhelpful
language and stigmas around those who
leave higher education.” ■
Collegiate chapter president London
Moore took to Instagram to apologise for
the video and confirm that the woman
filmed is no longer part of the organisation.
“Our chapter condemns the racist,
offensive and disgraceful conduct of the
two women involved in the video posted
yesterday,” her statement read. “More
specifically, we are deeply disappointed in
the actions of the one woman associated
with the Theta Gamma chapter of Tri Delta.”
The person who uploaded a video of the
footage to Twitter tagged OU alongside the
hashtag #whatareyougoingtodo.
OU president James Gallogly released a
statement in response to the incident.
Gallogly wrote: “We are saddened and
offended that … we are reminded how far
we have yet to come in the conversation
about treating everyone with respect and
dignity. The University of Oklahoma abhors
such conduct and condemns the students’
actions and behaviour in the strongest
terms possible. The students have offered
to apologise in order to reflect their regret.”
Students, alumni and members of the
public criticised the response as milquetoast.
“This statement does nothing to
concretely address the harm this racist incident (this is just one of many that
continue to happen at the institution) do to
black students, faculty, staff and alumni,”
one Twitter user wrote. “OU must speak out
more strongly and take real, long-lasting,
transformative action.”
Another wrote: “As our president, you
need to make sure the students on this
campus feel safe. I can’t believe a sorry is
seen as enough here.”
Others called for harsher penalties for
the women in the video, citing the steps
OU took following the upload of footage
showing OU’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraternity members chanting racist slurs.
The national headquarters of Sigma
Alpha Epsilon closed the OU chapter
after the video was uploaded online. Two
students were expelled over the incident.
There was also debate about whether the
university should be tarred with the same
brush as the women in the newest video.
One Twitter user said the students’ actions
should not reflect poorly on the university
as a whole, while another suggested racial
epithets are commonplace.
“Welcome to the University of Oklahoma,”
she wrote. “My roommate there called me
a wetback.” ■
Half a degree of difference
Study shows that doing even
some university has advantages.
‘F
inish what you start’ is a widely
revered tenet of neoliberal
psychology, but a new study by
La Trobe University has flipped it on its side.
Researchers at the university’s Centre
for Higher Education Equity and Diversity
Research have found that those who
complete even part of a degree are
Blackface
backlash
University criticised over response
to racist student video.
A
US sorority has expelled one of
its members following the upload
of a video showing a woman
in blackface using what sounds like a
racist slur.
The video shows a student from the
University of Oklahoma covering her face
and hands in black paint and laughing
alongside a fellow Tri Delta member.
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