Drove down to Miami Dade College last night (downtown campus). The parking garage elevator was full of young people clutching books - a beautiful and uncommon sight in South Florida.
I love college campuses: their studious air, their glorification of knowledge, the aura of societal rather than just self-improvement. And of course all the young faces.
Miami Dade also has an egalitarian feel, like City College of New York, as many of the students are the children of immigrants. They have more of a sense of responsibility than privilege, since many are the first in their families to attend college. For them, the experience is stripped of its American fat - frat parties, cheerleaders, game days - and served rare, as education. Though the chess team regularly makes it to the Final Four.
