Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated, “Most…think that education should equip them with the proper instruments of exploitation so that they can forever trample over the masses. Still others think that education should furnish them with noble ends rather than means to an end.” What Dr. King was getting at in The Purpose of Education is that education holds many different values for many different people. How can we go about determining one standard value of a college education for a country so recognized for its diversity? Also, is it really true that everyone in our divergent society has an equal opportunity to attend a university? We cannot ignore the fact that the characteristics that separate us will ultimately have a profound impact on both our individual opportunities for and values of a university education.

A kid growing up in poverty does not have near the same probability of graduating from a university as a wealthy individual does, and each learns to value post high school education accordingly. Do you think most poor hungry kids ...