School should promote the value of all degrees
I am a 1992 graduate of ASU School of Social Work. I believe I chose the field I was destined to be in, and I love being a social worker.
Unfortunately, upon graduation, reality struck. I found out that my bachelor's degree could earn me no more than a high school graduate. There was absolutely no support in the community for bachelor's degrees.
I was fortunate that I was a student with some life experience, and I landed a job in the mental health field. I stayed there for many years, as it was a viable option.
Eventually, I started earning more than most people with master's degrees in my field.
Getting a master's was not what I had wanted to do with my career, however. I have a family and didn't feel that pursuit of a higher degree was an option for me at this point of my life.
I did not pursue social work to make big money; however, it seems to me that the future of anyone desiring a bachelor's degree is limited by the field itself.
While I am a licensed social worker with many years of experience and have earned my way forward, I do not believe that ASU, or the social work community at large, has offered me any support.
This is unfortunate. Most jobs available in the community only require a bachelor's level.
I don't believe there will be an influx into the field of social work until we begin to value and support all degree levels.
Advocacy so far has been for master's candidates, and rarely for bachelor's degree graduates. Start improving here and you will see a rise in new students in this area.
Ruth Miller-Dunn
ALUMNA
Women are angry, not intimidated
Ty Thompson's column last Thursday was uncalled for and degrading.
Pornography is probably the most widely spread crime. It infiltrates the personal and public spheres and wreaks havoc wherever it is seen.
Some rationalize its existence by considering it a "victimless crime." However, the presence of pornography in communities and homes has resulted in marital problems and divorce.
And how many porn videos include the results of the lifestyle they advocate: pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases?
Thompson said that women are "intimidated" by pornography. However, that is a misconception and not the word for women's response to pornography - "anger" would better describe women's response.
Why anger?
Women have been exploited. The image of women in pornography communicates the message unscrupulous men like to hear - women are sex machines only in existence to satisfy sexual appetites.
Despite the thoughts of some, women are human, not meat for a ravenous beast.
On account of the sex education of today, our generation has been brainwashed to think that there is never a poor choice about sex.
It is because of this that our society sees an increasing number of broken homes, teen pregnancy and perverted understandings of sexual intercourse.
Thursday's column was obscene in content. Mr. Thompson shot a hole in his own foot by rationalizing pornography and inviting women to enjoy this perversion. Real men and upstanding women must not put up with such ideas that are fatal to the civilized world.
Catherine Smith
VICE PRESIDENT
NETWORK OF ENLIGHTENED WOMEN AT ASU
