The Opinion Blog

Hard Questions About College

Sunday’s editorial asks some tough questions about who’s going to college and why they aren’t succeeding:

Sandwiched inside the article The Sun News published last month when data on local, state and national SAT scores were announced was this sobering sentence: “The College Board considers 1,550 a benchmark for indicating college success.”

Those who read that far into the news story came upon the benchmark after learning that Horry County’s average SAT score was 1,484, Georgetown County’s average was 1,364, the state average was 1,431 and the national average was 1,498.

In other words, the average student SAT test taker, whether on the local, state or national level, is not considered likely to succeed in college. Those results come on top of similar ones from the ACT test, the other popular college entrance exam. A report this year by the organization behind that test found that only 25 percent of ACT-tested high school graduates nationwide were adequately prepared for college in all four subjects it covers: English, reading, math and science.

Expand Pre-K to All in South Carolina

Thursday’s second editorial calls for expanded offerings of pre-kindergarten:

With students heading back to school this week, it’s a good time to revisit one of the best ways to improve education statewide, and in turn improve our communities and our economy: pre-kindergarten.

About half of 4-year-olds in South Carolina get some sort of early childhood education, delivered through a hodgepodge of state and federal programs. It’s time to increase that to cover all of the state’s 4-year-olds.

Teen Pregnancy: Still Too High



It’s time for a new focus on reducing teen pregnancy in Horry County, as Friday’s editorial explains:

Forrest Alton thinks we’ve forgotten “the ‘yeah, but’ part” when it comes to teen pregnancy.

The CEO of the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy pointed out last week that S.C. residents often have that sort of cynical gut reaction on hearing all sorts of good news from our communities. Teen pregnancy successes, for some reason, often get a pass.

HGTC: Spreading Smiles



HGTC’s new dental education facility is good news in multiple ways, as Thursday’s editorial explains:

Talking with The Sun News’ editorial board in February, HGTC President Neyle Wilson said the local college was having to be “really, really selective” in choosing which programs to pursue, particularly in health care, because of declining state and federal aid. With that in mind, the opening in June of the school’s Robert E. Speir Healthcare Education Center, and particularly the building’s dental center, is a wonderful example of targeted, smart choices by those in charge.

College Is a Good Goal



Tuesday’s second editorial:

In 2010, as he was running to be re-elected to his post as chairman of the Horry County school board, Will Garland talked to the editorial board about his vision for a local education system that took every student from kindergarten all the way to college graduation. There should be a seamless system, he said, that worked from K-16, not just K-12. It wasn’t perhaps an original thought, but it was a good one, and it still is. We’ve heard the same aspiration multiple times from others in the community over recent years, from college leaders, municipal officials and others in leadership at our schools.

Cheaper College? We Dare to Hope



If the price of Big Macs rose at the same rate as tuition at CCU over the past 25 years, you’d be paying about $15 for that sandwich these days. That’s not sustainable, as Sunday’s editorial discusses:

Twenty-six years ago, the median household income in our state was $21,968. Gas cost about 89 cents a gallon in the U.S. And attending Coastal Carolina University would set you back $1,000 a year, about 4.5 percent of that household income.

By 2010, the world was much different. The median household income in the state had nearly doubled, to $41,709. The price of gas, as we all know, shot up far past 89 cents. And tuition and fees at CCU cost students $9,390 a year, or about 22.5 percent of that household income.

We Can Only Give Thanks



On Thursday, as families across the Strand give thanks, we add our own list of blessings:

Today, we as a nation set apart a time specifically for giving thanks, a day for looking back upon the gifts of the past year and reflecting on all the good that we have borne witness to. Rooted in our country’s harsh Puritan heritage and made official in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln in the midst of our worst trial as a nation, the holiday is more than just a time to gather with family and friends and loosen our belts a notch or two.

Our country’s annual ritual of self-reflection and corporate gratitude offers a welcome and needed opportunity to step back from the daily frustrations of life and wonder at the amazing gifts we have enjoyed and which we too often take for granted.

Never Too Late to Learn



Tuesday’s editorial gives a well-deserved pat on the back to our area’s adult education offerings:

Discussions of our area’s schools often grace these pages, as we chronicle the successes and failures of our local educational system, but it should be remembered that learning does not end at 18 or 21. As thousands of children settle into school this fall, thousands of adults will also be finding their desks in new classrooms, discovering new friends and introducing themselves to fresh teachers.

A Look in the Mirror



Sunday’s editorial offers a warm welcome to all of the region’s new Hispanic residents who showed up in the 2010 census.

If you could have put all of Myrtle Beach’s residents inside the city’s convention center in 2000, you would have noticed that about four out of five seats were filled with white residents. If you did the same thing today, that number would be closer to two out of three. While the city’s population grew 19 percent in the last decade, to more than 27,000, the city’s white population grew at a fraction of that pace, rising only 2 percent.

So who made up the difference? The city’s black population grew 30 percent, but it was the Hispanic population that skyrocketed, more than tripling in 10 years, so that now nearly 1 in 7 of the residents of Myrtle Beach are Hispanic. It’s a remarkable change for the city, but one that is hardly surprising. The area’s warm climate and relaxed nature attracts new residents, and while the region has been struggling recently with unemployment, the city’s hospitality industry still provides many jobs for newcomers.

Our Time in the Sun



Friday’s editorial:

Another Sunshine Week is coming to a close, this time with some encouraging progress on making our government more transparent.

After years of pressure by the S.C. Policy Council, Gov. Mark Sanford and first Rep. Nikki Haley and then Gov. Haley, the Senate agreed at last on Thursday to a measure that will put all major votes in the legislature on the record, joining the House in passing the bill. It’s embarrasing that it took so long to reach this basic level of accountability, but heartening that this year’s legislators heeded the concerns of citizens and agreed to shine some more light into the halls of government.