Honor an Oregon town and its dreamers

  • By the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board
  • Saturday, October 3, 2015 11:01am
  • OpinionCommentary

The schools, even their names, aren’t widely known. Their roles are crisply defined, limited. But their graduates? They’ve earned two-year degrees, or occupational prerequisites, or certificates attesting to their capabilities. Along the way, a college in their community also has exposed them to the humanities, the sciences, the arts. That is, a community college has furthered their dreams, enhanced their careers, expanded their lives.

This is the world, and these are the people, an Oregon shooter attacked Thursday. As journalists chronicle the victims, we’ll all read about their dreams, their careers, their lives.

America has 1,200 community colleges with — another remarkable number — 13 million students. Joliet Junior College, founded in 1901 southwest of Chicago, apparently was the first. Tellingly, it was the creation of a local school superintendent, J. Stanley Brown, who wanted more students to attend college, and a University of Chicago president, William Rainey Harper, who understood that many high school grads couldn’t afford to do so. Or, as Brown and Harper surely realized, who had different aspirations.

In the coming days as Umpqua Community College reverberates through American society — with advocacy groups and politicians having their say — focus on these students. As October started, they were making something of themselves.

The shooter? Earlier this week he evidently posted online a window into his yearning. Writing about the killer of two TV station employees in Virginia, he wrote: “I have noticed that so many people like him are all alone and unknown, yet when they spill a little blood, the whole world knows who they are. A man who was known by no one, is now known by everyone. His face splashed across every screen, his name across the lips of every person on the planet, all in the course of one day. Seems the more people you kill, the more you’re in the limelight.”

Only if the rest of us let the limelight drift away from the people who spent the first part of Thursday furthering their dreams, enhancing their careers, expanding their lives.

The above editorial is set to appear in the Chicago Tribune on Saturday.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Friday, March 29

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

Schwab: Who was Langerhans? And when’s the ferry to his islets?

The Herald’s resident retired surgeon slices into the anatomy of the etymology of our anatomy.

Comment: Cervial cancer treatable; if you’re screened for it

A screening for cervical cancer can detect cancerous or precancerous cells and direct treatment.

Comment: Framers gave us Goldilocks Constitution; let’s use it

It was meant to be resilient, not perfect, but it has to be used as designed toward workable solutions.

Comment: GOP in Congress isn’t fighting crime; it’s arming it

Budget cuts to the FBI and ATF and other riders have made it easier for criminals to get firearms.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.