In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated only 29.5 percent of the over 22 million registered California residents 25-years and older have attained a Bachelor’s Degree or higher.

Even more alarming is that only about 13 percent have an Associate’s Degree. Although records show that 80 percent have graduated high school, there is something very wrong with these statistics.

The data presented by the U.S. Census Bureau is a rough conclusion that our age group in California is blissfully complacent with being a less-than significant generation. More than half of the 22 million California residents over the age of 25 have nothing but a high school diploma or even lower. Outsourcing of jobs and immigration of educated foreigners to the U.S. should be enough motivation for the average student to attain more in school, but records show it is not working.

As a California community college newspaper, we find ourselves in a significant position to convince other students to achieve more than what the U.S. Census Bureau projects. Our age group seems to have lost perspective on what is important. We have little to parallel the innovations of past decades.

The printing press, cotton gin, automobiles, and MTV were all imagined and invented in the 20th century, and in comparison to Chuck Norris facts, Snakes on a Plane and shoes with wheels in their heels in the 21st century, we fail with unfathomable disparity. With no clear definition on what we are suppose to do, we wonder frantically as we blindly bump our heads on imaginary glass ceilings.

According to the census, the simple desire to attain a higher education is not even prevalent in our age bracket. We lack the drive to be greater than the sum of our parts and take comfort in the false pretences that everything has been done.

The search for knowledge is not a trivial pursuit. It is a responsibility to be educated. Through learning, we gain perspective and formulate new ideas that can contribute to the human experience.

Do not stand idly by as our generation is labeled as nothing. Add new threads that we can call our own to the vast and diverse tapestry of human knowledge. Everything has not been done. There are myriads of areas in which individual talents can be revolutionary. There is more to life than a pimped MySpace page. Lead your life in pursuit of greatness. Be more than the sum of your parts.