Why College Matters: For The Love Of Learning—And Democracy

Forbes

4 days ago

In a time of tense scrutiny of higher education, it helps to be reminded why college matters.
Two recent talks by highly acclaimed novelists left sparks on how much the opportunity to learn still means to people, and why it's important for keeping our country strong.
The joy of learning is an undercurrent throughout the efforts to increase the share of Americans with college degrees or other credentials that lead to measurably better economic outcomes. There is incredible hope and promise embedded in the word opportunity—that people have the freedom to learn, the chance to pursue their passions, and a real path to thrive.
I was struck last month by New York Times bestselling author R.F. Kuang's poignant call to protect the rare opportunity of American higher education in a world where many are subjected to political suppression.
Kuang brought a crowd to their feet as the convocation speaker at Georgetown University. I happened to be in the audience as Kuang, a Georgetown School of Foreign Service graduate herself seven years ago, urged the Class of 2025 not to take education for granted.
'A university is such an impossible fantasy—a place where we can test dangerous, unorthodox ideas; where we can dream up better worlds; where we can make mistakes; where we can change our minds,' Kuang said. 'The life of the mind is a utopia, and history proves its precarity. It will die if we stop fighting for it.'
Kuang's own story includes five novels, two master's degrees, and a No. 1 ranking on the New York Times Best Sellers list for her fantasy series, 'The Poppy War' trilogy. She's also pursuing a doctorate degree at Yale University in East Asian languages and literature.
But her regard for learning really goes back three generations. Kuang's great-grandfather and grandfather in China sought to obtain education in the time of political and economic turmoil. Kuang's father made it to Beijing University to study physics—graduating in 1989 in time to join other students in the Tiananmen Square protests to demand political reforms.
China's leadership sent troops into the streets, a moment captured forever by the global image of a student standing his ground before a line of tanks. Thousands were killed or injured, and Kuang's father, who had already gotten permission to pursue his doctorate in the United States, left for California.
'America represented this utopia where one could think and speak freely,' Kuang told the Georgetown graduates. 'You'll never find a bigger patriot than my dad. He flies the red, white, and blue on the Fourth of July. He rocks a cowboy hat. He loves fishing and grilling and driving his truck. He says he's already fled one authoritarian state, and he's not going to flee another.'
Gen Z hit college-going age at a time when public faith in higher education has declined to a historic low. The perception of college, Kuang noted, is that it's an exorbitantly expensive ivory tower for political brainwashing, AI cheating, and partying.
College should not be 'an amusement park, a member's club for the elites, a corporation,' she said, calling upon higher education to cut out its rot and change. Universities need to open their doors, allow honest dialogue, and share knowledge with the world—because the opportunity to learn is so valuable.
'We are so accustomed to speaking of the university as a frivolity, as a luxury, that we have forgotten how rare a space this is,' Kuang said.
'Hold onto that luxury,' she encouraged the graduates. 'Refuse the poverty of thought. Stay curious.'
Not that life for the graduates, even with the benefits of that education, will be simple or easy:
'Now you will put your ideals to the test, and more likely than not watch your dreams meet the crushing anvil of reality,' she said.
'You are stepping into a world now where, if you hold on to your principles, sooner or later you will be staring down a tank. But my father emerged from that bloody square, and the first thing he did was seek out another classroom.'
The powerful urgency of Kuang's speech stuck with me. Gen Z is stepping into a much more uncertain world than the generations before them, as democratic principles at home and abroad face threats, and as artificial intelligence transforms the workplace and raises the bar for a more educated workforce.
While often defined by challenges, Gen Z brings distinct talents to society as digital natives with a better understanding of mental health and wellbeing, and a keen interest in finding climate change solutions.
John Green, whose 'The Fault in Our Stars' became a No. 1 bestselling novel and hit motion picture, understands Gen Z's mindset and hunger for learning.
More than a dozen years ago, Green launched an educational video series called CrashCourse with his brother Hank. It became popular among high schoolers, making history and biology lessons entertaining and easily digestible.
Some of his inspiration came from being a 'reluctant learner' himself, as Green put it, who didn't want to learn algebra or French but had teachers who never gave up on him.
'I wanted to capture what I later learned in life is the joy of learning—the fact that we are here to understand ourselves in the universe,' Green said at a Lumina Foundation retreat in Indianapolis, our shared home base. 'And if we're lucky, we get to do it in community with people and learn from people who are smarter than us—or at least people who have been smart longer than us.'
Known to 3.9 million YouTube followers as the Vlogbrothers, the Greens became interested in helping students access college when they learned that millions of Americans start college but don't complete degrees, sometimes still burdened by student loan debt.
They wanted to see if a couple of guys in their 40s who have jobs could navigate the complex college system. The answer was no.
That led the brothers to produce the 'How to College' CrashCourse series to demystify the system and team up with Arizona State University to create Study Hall, which offers low-cost, flexible college courses. Students pay only $25 upfront, then can choose to pay $400 for transferable academic credit after seeing their final grade.
In his talk at Lumina, Green spoke of the need to create an education system that works for everyone and values community. To Green and to most of us, solving America's higher ed challenges is essential not just for economic growth, but for democracy itself.
'This is also about having an educated and informed citizenry at a time where life is going to get very, very weird,' he said, explaining how artificial intelligence can now create videos in his likeness and spread misinformation.
'They can say anything. And that means that we need a really well-informed, educated citizenry,' he said. 'That is critical for the future of our democracy and the future of our country.'
These two storytellers—R.F. Kuang and John Green—offer vivid reminders that education remains both a personal lifeline and a public good. Whether it's Kuang's family story of striving for knowledge, or Green's mission to widen the path through flexible, affordable learning, their experiences highlight what's at stake when access to higher education is threatened.
At this inflection point, higher education needs more creative ideas to redesign systems, like Green's Study Hall courses. It needs advocates for its value, like Kuang, and to further prove itself by setting up today's graduates for tomorrow's future.
For all its flaws, college remains a powerful engine of opportunity. At its best it shapes thinkers, challenges assumptions, and fosters resilience in the face of life's challenges. And at a time when democracy itself is being tested, the need for informed and empowered citizens has never been greater. Education, in the end, is more than a degree—it's a commitment to the shared future we're all building.