[QUOTE=c.captain;65836]Only if they are nasty, bite and kick 
If they are then we all can get along just fine in front of a campfire. I punch you, you kick me, we all have a grand timeā¦[/QUOTE]
Iām having a good old time pissing off everybody, c.captain ā¦ must be the Celt in me.
Carry on ā¦
[QUOTE=Sweat-n-Grease;65840]Iām having a good old time pissing off everybody, c.captain ā¦ must be the Celt in me.
Carry on ā¦[/QUOTE]
My class mates are having a shit fit over me ā¦
and Iām laughing ā¦
My class mates are having a shit fit over me ā¦
and Iām laughing ā¦
You do not laugh alone brother marinerā¦I and more than a couple of others here are belly laughing right along with you. Tell your fellow mafiosi ā¦sorry, alums to go and stick their fine alumni periodical up their preverbial rectal orifices!
[QUOTE=c.captain;65843]You do not laugh alone brother marinerā¦I and more than a couple of others here are belly laughing right along with you. Tell your fellow mafiosi ā¦sorry, alums to go and stick their fine alumni periodical up their preverbial rectal orifices![/QUOTE]
Oh my ā¦ my my
The Days that KP was needed are long gone. If it was not for all of the money thrown around by the Alumni Association it would have been gone long ago. Now with the way the Alumni Association has been treated I have to wonder what will happen now. We can only hope!
How hard would it be to close it down and give current midshipment full boat scholarships at the state academys?
[QUOTE=Jetryder223;108991]How hard would it be to close it down and give current midshipment full boat scholarships at the state academys?[/QUOTE]
Any why would they get a free ride. I am sure that there have been schools that have shut down. When this happens the Students try to transfer to other schools. I see no reason that we should foot the bill for these cadets if KP shuts down. Let them do what everyone else does, ask Mommy and Daddy or take out Student Loans.
Because giving ex-KPers a free ride to finish their degrees would be a small price to pay to remove a huge pushback from affected individuals.
State Schools run about $20k/yr. There are 1000 at KP or about 300/250/250/200 by class. Cancel the incoming MUG class and let the 2nd year & above transfer. Costs would be as follows:
Year 1 - 700x $20k =$14MM
Year 2 - 400x $20k - $9MM
Year 3 - 200x $20k =$4MM
Thatās cheap compared to $80MM/yr to keep the place open.
[QUOTE=Tugs;108997]Any why would they get a free ride. I am sure that there have been schools that have shut down. When this happens the Students try to transfer to other schools. I see no reason that we should foot the bill for these cadets if KP shuts down. Let them do what everyone else does, ask Mommy and Daddy or take out Student Loans.[/QUOTE]
Students take out students loans. That said, I see no reason the taxpayers should foot the bill if KP went away.
[QUOTE=Jeffrox;109005]Students take out students loans. That said, I see no reason the taxpayers should foot the bill if KP went away.[/QUOTE]
Because you canāt just leave an entire student body stranded saying, okay good luck. When KPers are accepted they sign a contract with the school and govāt to fulfill their commitment and blah blah blah.
Iād have no problem with keeping things the way they were for the students currently enrolled, and having a tuition system for all future students and no commitment. Iām sure that most midshipmen wouldnāt mind that either to be honest, the commitment is being taken more seriously nowadays and is a real pain in the ass at times with our sailing schedules and having mandatory ADTs and such.
Kings Point needs some major changes, that is obvious, but blaming and punishing the current midshipmen that attend isnāt the right route to head down in fixing kings point.
Maybe reduced in size and updated curriculum to reflect changes in technology?
Also, howās your knee.
Why should tax payers foot the bill for any education. No one foot any bills for my kidās education but me. Tax payers foot enough bills.
[QUOTE=Xmsccapt(ret);109022]Why should tax payers foot the bill for any education. No one foot any bills for my kidās education but me. Tax payers foot enough bills.[/QUOTE]
Maybe if they were risking their necks for god and country like the other service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force), but USMMA grads donāt stick their necks out any more than the other maritime academies (Maine, Massachusetts, NY, Texas, California, Great Lakes) and the rest of us still have to pay full freight on that little 4 year voyage. Passage aināt cheap, let me tell ya!
Why isnāt MarAd using some of their bucks to fund some public service announcements?
The public knows jack shit about this industry.
I would love to see that happen. They could do one from each segment of the industry- offshore, government, contaners, tankers, special purpose, inland, tugs and barges, etc.
Every other commercial I see these days is trying to get me to take an antidepressant and wash it down with Miller 64.
PBS Frontline, are you paying attention?
I realize no one really cares what anyone says on here and itās a place to vent. However what everyone who holds a Merchant Mariner credential needs to realize that the US Merchant Marine is slowly being dismantled piece by piece. I agree in reality we donāt need Kings Point having a multitude of Maritime Colleges. Yet once Kings Point closes itās doors it will quicken the demise of whatās left of the American mariner.
So keep bashing the free ride and how kings pointed suck and I paid for their education cause when itās closed, who do you think theyāll come after next. I know thereās a bunch of people like, I work offshore theyāll never replace me! Enjoy turning over to the Eastern Europeans. Or the tug guys working inland, enjoy being replaced by low cost Filipinos.
Just remember itās about taking the industry down one segment at a time.
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;109023]Maybe if they were risking their necks for god and country like the other service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force), but USMMA grads donāt stick their necks out any more than the other maritime academies (Maine, Massachusetts, NY, Texas, California, Great Lakes) and the rest of us still have to pay full freight on that little 4 year voyage. Passage aināt cheap, let me tell ya![/QUOTE]
I had to think long and hard about my decision to support the school (after what I think would be some good and necessary changes) because I have had some rather negative encounters with grads, and that tinged my thinking, but I too have benefited from taxpayer largesse, being the recipient of GI bill tuition money. Complaining about the free aspect would be somewhat hypocritical of me. As I said in the other threads, Iād be all for shrinking the school down to a size that reflects current need and bringing the curriculum into the 21st century. Plus add courses anyone can sign up for and attend in person or on-line. Add BST and other STCW classes for anyone to take. Add online courses that we can take for credit or to survey. For a fee of course. Make it relevant.
Closing it would give John McCain and his ilk all the ammunition they need to shoot the final round into the Jones Act and like leadline said, bring in the waves of foreigners- hell, they already have a visa status for foreign mariners on US ships, donāt they?
I just want the place opened up to help people upgrade. Itās taxpayer funded shouldnāt tax paying seamen have access? Why does it have to be an academy only? Some people upgrading these days have to pay out of pocket if their company wonāt spring for it. Why canāt they use those facilities. It can be a central location with a standardized level of training. Why canāt a seasoned AB go in and take classes to get his mates license? Isnāt the end result of both tracks a 3rd mate capable of becoming a ships officer?
[QUOTE=catherder;109031]I had to think long and hard about my decision to support the school (after what I think would be some good and necessary changes) because I have had some rather negative encounters with grads, and that tinged my thinking, but I too have benefited from taxpayer largesse, being the recipient of GI bill tuition money. Complaining about the free aspect would be somewhat hypocritical of me. As I said in the other threads, Iād be all for shrinking the school down to a size that reflects current need and bringing the curriculum into the 21st century. Plus add courses anyone can sign up for and attend in person or on-line. Add BST and other STCW classes for anyone to take. Add online courses that we can take for credit or to survey. For a fee of course. Make it relevant.
Closing it would give John McCain and his ilk all the ammunition they need to shoot the final round into the Jones Act and like leadline said, bring in the waves of foreigners- hell, they already have a visa status for foreign mariners on US ships, donāt they?[/QUOTE]
Your GI Bill is not one little bit hypocritical. I am not familiar with your service record so I could not say whether you ever laid down your life for your country or not but that doesnāt matter. The simple fact is that you joined and served in the first place, and whether you risked your life for me and mine or not, your joining is a statement that you were willing and able to do that. You deserved your GI Bill, and so much more. KP students do not deserve their free ride, not for what they do in exchange.
If the japs were about to bomb pearl harbor again and Angela Merkel were about to annex the Sudetenland for the glory of āzee fazerlandā then it would be an entirely different story. In that case KPāers, and more, would be going out in the world to risk life and limb to bring vital materials to the war effort, all for the survival of the nation and the free world as a whole. The global situation today could not be any further from that scenario, at least not for members of the United States Merchant Marine. Hawse-pipers and graduates of the other maritime academies both alike are competing for the exact same jobs as Kings Point graduates. They donāt risk any more than I do, why should I pay a fortune while they pay nothing?
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;109036]Your GI Bill is not one little bit hypocritical. I am not familiar with your service record so I could not say whether you ever laid down your life for your country or not but that doesnāt matter. The simple fact is that you joined and served in the first place, and whether you risked your life for me and mine or not, your joining is a statement that you were willing and able to do that. You deserved your GI Bill, and so much more. KP students do not deserve their free ride, not for what they do in exchange.
If the japs were about to bomb pearl harbor again and Angela Merkel were about to annex the Sudetenland for the glory of āzee fazerlandā then it would be an entirely different story. In that case KPāers, and more, would be going out in the world to risk life and limb to bring vital materials to the war effort, all for the survival of the nation and the free world as a whole. The global situation today could not be any further from that scenario, at least not for members of the United States Merchant Marine. Hawse-pipers and graduates of the other maritime academies both alike are competing for the exact same jobs as Kings Point graduates. They donāt risk any more than I do, why should I pay a fortune while they pay nothing?[/QUOTE]
You need to get over the KP free ride thing and realize this is a full assault on our industry. The question is do you want a job when you graduate in the industry or try going back to school to get a degree for something shoreside.
Close down KP and have MARAD fund scholarships for private students at state schools. That way there are opportunities for poor people to go to a school that would require out-of-state tuition. Maybe require that they work on their license for 10 years and keep their credentials valid for 15 years and they have to agree to be called (and answer) in case the government needs them.