The End of Vietnam and the Lessons the U.S. Learned

This Thursday will mark the 34th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war, April 30th, 1975. In class we discussed some of the causes of the war and the reason for the involvement of the U.S., but we have not yet discussed the outcome of the war. To recap from class, the U.S. entered the war to stop the spread of communism from North Vietnam to other parts of Southeast Asia and beyond. However, the more interesting part more interesting part is the end of the war and its effect. After more than a decade and a half of fighting, the United States, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam signed the Paris Peace Accords, removing U.S. from Vietnam. This peace treaty came after widespread opposition to the war was occurring in the United States. Once the U.S. troops withdrew from South Vietnam, North Vietnam launched its final attack on the south. The north captured the southern capital of Saigon on April 30th, 1975, known as the fall of Saigon. The city was immediately renamed Ho Chi Minh City after North Vietnamese leader. Soon after the fall of Saigon, North and South Vietnam united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

On the contrary to their original intent, the United States was very unsuccessful in ending communist rein in Vietnam. In the process, 58,000 Americans died and 153,000 were seriously wounded. In addition, 1 million Vietnamese combatants and 4 million Vietnamese civilians died over the years of fighting. Not to mention, many of the soldiers who came back physically unharmed were never the same mentally, with a large number of veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. The Vietnam war taught the United States effects of military intervention in foreign countries, and how the outcome is not always pleasing. So in light of our unit guiding question, what was the Vietnam war good for? How can the concepts learned through Vietnam be applied to the War on Terror and the War in Iraq? What progress has been made between the wars in terms of the US's strategy?

The Cost of College

In the past 10 years, the tuition to attend a public, four-year college has increased over 50 percent. As the tuition increases, so does the amount of debt college students have. The average undergraduate student has $3,173 in credit card debt. Students are charging their school expenses to their credit cards, creating a huge amount of debt they will have to pay off once they are out of college and trying to make a living. The higher the grade level of the student, the more debt. The average college senior has $4,138 in debt, a 44 percent increase since 2004, and the highest this statistic has been since data for it has been collected. In addition, with the economic downturn, these statistics, which were collected for 2008, will still be on the rise for 2009. Lenders are declining private loans for college, leaving some people out of options for college funding (article). What should current high school students do to pay for college? According to this article, the high school graduating class of 2010, will be part of the largest entering college freshman class in U.S. history, a demographic blip that's leading to an admissions squeeze for some students. But the bigger squeeze is figuring out how to pay for the schools that accept them." So what happens when you get accepted into that "good" college of your dreams that you have worked your whole high school career for, but you cannot afford it? The economic downturn is causing student to apply to schools that are closer to home and cheaper, with an emphasis on in-state tuition. Many people's college funds have all but vanished with the stock market, and the average college endowment has dropped a quarter. Students that were counting on receiving financial aid may not be able to receive any, causing some people to loose their dream of going to any college at all. How will this affect the line between privilege and poverty? What will less people receiving a college education mean for the future of our economy?

The Obama administration has responded with a college affordability plan that includes phasing out bank-loan subsidies, transferring funding to small increases in grants for low-income students, expanding the federal student loan and Pell Grant programs and offering some assistance to students who enter public service. However, "even an infusion of government aid won't ease the pain much for most middle- to upper-income families, many of whom won't qualify for grants, need-based scholarships or significant education tax credits." This is where many New Trier students fall; they are in need of financial aid to afford those big price ticket private and out-of -state schools, bu they are not the worst off in the big, national need-based community, so they will not be receiving the aid they need.

People getting desperate in a time of need?

In Wilmette on Saturday, two people robbed Fifth Third Bank on Green Bay Road. The robbers tied up two employees at closing using zip ties as hand cuffs. Dressed in black, ski masks, and sunglasses, the two men were able to escape with money and without harming either of the bank tellers. The police did not arrive in time, and are still on the lookout for the two men (Wilmette Life Article). This robbery led me to wonder if bank robberies have increased since the economic downturn. No surprise, it turns out they have. People have become desperate for any source of income, and have turned to stealing to get some extra cash. According to this article, bank robberies are up 54 percent in New York City in the last year. Experts say there is a direct correlation between recessions and the rise in bank robberies. During the Great Depression, Willie Sutton was notoriously known for robbing banks banks. When asked once why he did it, Sutton responded, "That's where the money is." Some people are looking for any way to get money, and to them banks seem the most logically answer. As for today's economy, one New York resident voices his opinion toward the increase in bank robberies in NYC, "Right now with the economy, people losing jobs, all these corporations downsizing, people are looking to feed their families, they're looking for some kind of support and they're going to do what they're going to do." However, at what point does one become so desperate that they will cross the ethical and legal line and rob a bank to get money for their family? What does this says about the current state of our nation?