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President Obama’s interview with Youtube celebrities GloZell Green, Bethany Mota and Hank Green surprised a lot of critics with the more serious questions that were asked. But that doesn’t mean that Obama gave them a completely serious answer.
According to Politifact, he took some liberties when discussing politician’s roles in higher education.
Mota, 19, asked Obama, “Why should the younger generation be interested in politics, and why should it matter to them?”
“”Well, basically, politics is just — how do we organize ourselves as a society? How do we make decisions about how we’re going to live together? So, young people care about how college is paid for. Well, the truth of the matter is, the reason we even have colleges is that at some point there were politicians who said, ‘You know what? We should start colleges,'” Obama said.
A viewer and the site challenged that last assertion.
But even with the land grabs, does that mean politicians are “the reason” for colleges?
John R. Thelin, a professor at the University of Kentucky and author of A History of American Higher Education, said it’s not even entirely accurate to claim credit for politicians in the founding of “state” schools.
“I doubt many of the ‘public (or, ‘state’) colleges and universities were founded by politicians,” Thelin said. “Usually some individual or group petitioned and prodded to obtain a charter for the state university. Often, some politicians opposed and obstructed such initiative.”
…Roger L. Geiger, an education professor at Penn State and author of The History of American Higher Education: Learning and Culture from the Founding to World War II, went so far as to say that Obama’s comment is “an egregious misstatement” that “reflects supreme ignorance of higher education.”
“Most American colleges and universities were founded when groups of private individuals decided, ‘We should start a college,” Geiger said.
…Even allowing for some oversimplification in a live interview, Obama is exaggerating. Public colleges and universities are a distinct minority of all such institutions, and while they comprise a majority of enrollment nationally, private schools account for a significant minority of enrollment. Meanwhile, historians of American higher education note that even in the case of “public” universities, “politicians” can’t automatically claim credit.
The statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, so we rated it Mostly False.”
