I'm not quite sure where I weigh in on this polemic against the university system. As an economics-minded individual, much evidence I find compelling, but some of it is inconsistent. As a rhetorician, some of the arguments are well-fashioned, qualified and hesitant, but some of them are door-bashing fear-mongering. As an overachieving hardliner, I definitely rally that students should be working harder, studying longer and not mucking about trapped in ineffective administrative policies that include vast recreational facilities, easy A's, and professors who aren't really teachers. As someone who learned the most in college through an after-school comedy group, I think maybe not all distractions from studying are disastrous. After all, the biggest companies to come out of college, from Microsoft to Apple to Facebook, are often the fruits of "individual pursuits" rather than nose-to-the-grindstone studying. I recognize that not every student who majors in "art appreciation" or takes a year off to discover himself is going to be a major mover and shaker, but there's got to be some space for those critical thinking skills to be applied in ways even teachers designing homework can't imagine.