Allow college to embrace new trends

Published 1:48 pm Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Local Motors can 3D print a car.

Bon Vivant Elon Musk is pushing new boundaries without combustion.

Google, Garmin and others have mapped just about everything there is to map.

Did it ever occur to an antiquated, 19th century organization like the Labor Council that new technology is the way to go?

Why not let smarter people than labor bosses, who resist change, open up the curriculum to new trends offering exciting, new jobs and room for advancement? Look ahead, not back. Maybe it’s time to let go of old ways like auto body shop and geographic info systems.

You let go of the 8-track for something better. I know you did.

Then let Green River College President Eileen Ely position the college by spotting industry trends on the upswing and burgeoning growth sectors with swathes of unfilled employment slots. Let American innovators fill these with our graduates, not foreign-educated workers with visas who have the right skill set.

If the Labor Council so badly wants to maintain old technology, then let the Labor Council totally underwrite both programs. You’re rich.

If you love them so much, that seems far more reasonable than telling 400,000 union members to boycott the college in Kent and Auburn.

Instead, Labor Council big shots could warmly invite the 400,000 strong to pony up for auto body and geographic information systems since the communique seems like it’s being drafted.

I don’t know about you but I want to take a spin in something so creative Detroit couldn’t even dream it up or build it like it did in the good ole days. You’ll find me on the freeway of love next to the pink cadillac.

– Joy Etienne