MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Michele Norris.
MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
And I'm Melissa Block. Time now for your comments.
NORRIS: We received a number of responses to our co-host Robert Siegel's story about Washington College. That's a small liberal arts school on the eastern shore of Maryland.
BLOCK: Tuition there runs $33,000 a year, room and board another $8,000. The economic downturn has administrators and students worried about the future. Junior Karen Hyde(ph) talked to Robert about how her family is footing the bill.
NORRIS: My parents recently took out a third mortgage in order to pay for college, and my Dad is coming in to sign up for our first college loan. Now I know that I at least will have the money to graduate, but it makes me worry about grad school. And I'm now learning the value of an education, but also the cost of an education.
NORRIS: Well, Indiana listener Laura Smith(ph) writes, I listened to the story and was totally blown away by the selfishness of some of these students. She continues, can they really sleep at night knowing they have been the cause of delayed retirement or canceled dreams for the people who already supported and cared for them for the past 20 years? I went to a state school, paid my way with loans and a lot of jobs. And you know what? I value my education even more because I paid for it.
BLOCK: A handful of Washington College graduates wrote in to defend their alma mater. Melanie Wing(ph) tells us, the education I received at Washington College was invaluable. My father was a professor at a state university, but I wanted the education I would receive at a liberal arts college. I worked hard to pay for it. My parents worked hard to pay for it. I could only afford to go for three years, so I took extra classes to graduate early. She adds, never for one minute have I regretted it. The education I received has paid for itself a hundred fold. And when the time comes, if my children want the same thing, together we will do what it takes to make it happen for them.
NORRIS: One other story brought in some mail. Yesterday, on our segment All Tech Considered, I talked with our tech guru, Omar Gallaga, about affordable gifts for the holidays. We talked about devices to convert your VHS tapes into digital files. We talked about rechargeable batteries. And we talked about digital photo frames which have come down in price since last December.
BLOCK: Well, it was that last suggestion that prompted these comment from Maddu Revilla(ph) of Redington, New Jersey.
NORRIS: Why would you want to hang a digital photo frame which consumes 10 to 15 watts of power continuously when you can hang a printed picture that could hang there for generations? Revilla continues, 10 watts seems like a small amount, but consider how many of these devices are being sold across the U.S. and the world and the impact to global warming.
BLOCK: Thanks for that sobering thought, and for all your comments.
NORRIS: Keep our mailbox full this holiday season. Go to npr.org and click on "Contact Us" at the top of the page. Please don't forget to tell us where you live and how you pronounce your name. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.