This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I don't know whether to feel sorry for college senior Warren Benson, author of "Hemingway is useless" (Forum, Nov. 19), or concerned about his troubling attitude.
Benson states he feels unprepared to meet the world and asks if college is not supposed to prepare him to work and be proficient in something.
Few people learn how to do anything in college well enough to make a living at it. Their basic education teaches them to think and prepare to start working in their fields, but the way to learn to do a job is to do the job.
Benson is "sick of classic literature and other useless information." As Andy Rooney wrote: "Going to a liberal arts college means having four years free to learn. You never have another four years like it. …
"In college, everything is laid out and available to you. It's like a buffet table with good food. You can take what you want. All you need is an appetite.
"There's always time to learn how to make a living. College ought to be for learning all the wonderful things in the world that have nothing to do with making money."
Steve Wilde
Sandy