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Thursday, July 08, 2004
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REDNECK WOMAN DIARIES: Ecole des Hautes Motos
[for earlier UD posts, see 6/18 and 6/22] Below is the Program Director of the new Harley-Davidson degree program at Fort Scott Community College in Wichita. After intensive study of Harleys, students would be encouraged to go to a nearby four-year college for a BA in technology, focusing on motorcycles. The program already has a waiting list. UD thinks this sort of vocational/management training (students will also take courses in English, science and public speaking) is a spectacularly good idea. As one commentator recently noted, for thousands of Americans, four-year academic colleges are a scam. In far too many cases, marginal students take their generous aid and go to colleges that don't teach them. Eighty percent of universities aren't selective, e.g. more or less happy to accept anyone who shows up with a check. Only 37 percent of first-time freshmen graduate in four years, and only 60 percent graduate in six years. Universities are happy to take money from unprepared students and fail them right back out, or dumb down their standards to stay on the government-aid gravy train. The Harley program, and programs like it, are, on the other hand, models of common sense. They expose students to some general culture ("The schools and Harley [which is supporting the program] hope the students will then pursue a bachelor's degree."), but are primarily vocational. Is such a program too specialized? Does it produce people for whom Harley cycles are the beginning, the middle, and the end? Well, if it does, so what? Company Creates Harley-Davidson 'Hearse' Wednesday June 30, 2004 7:01 PM By The Associated Press ALUM BANK, Pa. (AP) - Harley-Davidson fans can finally take their final ride in style. Tombstone Hearse Co. two years ago began building hand-crafted Old West-style casket carriers that are pulled by a modified Harley-Davidson Road King. ``We take a regular bike and turn it into a motortrike with special gears to pull a heavier load,'' said company co-founder Dave Follmar. ``We can accommodate most caskets, including oversized units.'' Follmar, a retired cabinetmaker, came up with the idea 12 years ago. With the help of construction expert Jack Feather, Follmar has now franchised the idea and has a network of hearses in service stretching from Texas to Michigan and New Jersey. Rental prices for the hearses range from $500 to $600. Traditional hearses range from $125 to $475. Tombstone's hearse is designed with the traditional amenities but features a glass-enclosed carriage with curtains and tassels. Four gold lanterns adorn each corner and it's fitted with a black vinyl top. Tombstone's drivers are dressed in white tuxedo shirts, string ties, black pants and cavalry-style knee-high boots with a single spur. ``For any guy or gal who has sat their butt in a Harley seat all their lives, it doesn't seem fitting to lay them in the back of a Caddy for a farewell ride,'' Feather said. |