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I'm convinced that Lambda School was shady, and I'm not debating that, but some of this seems over the top. ISAs as indentured servitude? The shadowy negotiati
by dustincoates 2y ago
I'm convinced that Lambda School was shady, and I'm not debating that, but some of this seems over the top.
ISAs as indentured servitude? The shadowy negotiating a company's validation "behind closed doors?" (Where else are you supposed to do it.)
The criticism of Lambda School can stand on its own without wading into the extreme hyperbole.
- virissimo 2y agoI did a year of computer science, but ended up going to App Academy with an ISA, because I couldn't really afford another couple of years. If ISAs are indentured servitude, but are still better than going to university, then what does that say about universities?
- llamaimperative 2y agoPerhaps your second premise isn't true...?
- doubloon 2y agoit says that Universities should be free.
- thaumasiotes 2y agoThat's solving the wrong problem; sucking away years of someone's life for minor benefits doesn't become a good deal by being free.
- ertian 2y agoFor real, if you applied the same level of scrutiny and the same kind of aggressive rhetoric to universities, the result would be a devastating critique. I think the same is true of other 'disruptive' companies that people love to hate (Uber, AirBnB, etc). We uncritically accept the status quo, and at the same time compare all upstarts against some platonic ideal of what we imagine could exist.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- mapmeld 2y agoAgreed, I gave real $ to the "Lambda Perpetual Access Fund" and now feel negative about the whole thing, but the sections where the author is talking about Austen's golf swing, bots, having written a paragraph conscious of clickbait? Not really necessary.
- throwaw2y342345 2y ago[flagged]
- dang 2y agoNo personal attacks, please.
- pessimizer 2y agoDid the article talk about his golf swing, or did the article mention that a sockpuppet account that he used to spy on his disgruntled students linked to a video of his golf swing that he also linked to on his twitter account, proving it was him? > Not really necessary. Define "necessary." Is it necessary to write articles at all?
- jonathankoren 2y agoISAs were indentured servitude. That's literally what they were. It was the single most scummy concept that Austin came up with and PaulG endorsed.
- wmf 2y agoWhat does that make student loans? Slavery?
- jonathankoren 2y agoLoans are a payment. These were a percentage of earnings. They are very different.
- AJC-Official 2y agoPercentage of earnings is just equity. They're different, but not ethically. Slavery would be forcibly taking 100% of an individual's equity, but given that ISAs are both optional and a minor percentage (Lambda's was 18% when I went thru), the comparison is unreasonable.
- jonathankoren 2y agoEquity in what property? Equity in what property? honk honk honk
- mlyle 2y agoIf the percentage of earnings is capped (as it was in most agreements), it's far better than a loan-- worst/best case you pay the capped amount (like the loan amount); if you do worse than that best case, you pay proportionally less. But trying to claw earnings from jobs that didn't relate to the school violates the letter and spirit of the agreement and shows the disproportionate power of the parties.
- huffmsa 2y agoOkay, so what's an income based repayment plan for a loan?
- karaterobot 2y agoYeah. This article is a combination of an interesting story with a really unfortunate insertion of POV that sends up red flags for trustworthiness. My favorite example is when he's talking about Lambda not registering with the state: > Austen claimed the school had made an honest mistake, and the company lawyer, who he claimed told them that since all the classes were online, it didn't need approval. Sure. And that's it. "Sure". He just smugly dismisses the claim without presenting any actual evidence to establish that that's what happened. This approach only works as journalism if the reader doesn't need to be convinced, but if they don't need to be convinced, why read the story in the first place?
- MrBuddyCasino 2y agoThats just the typical Mastodon commie. Resentful of the man in the arena and always looking to make themselves feel better by endlessly moralizing about others.
- throwawaymaths 2y agoI think it is more of indentured servitude than an uncollateralized loan, but not by much. Since getting rid of chattel slavery our society has generally found ways to eke our that unearned productivity from people via fractional servitude schemes. The (thin) line between an ISA and a loan is that the can discharge the loan through bankruptcy, im not certain you can do so as easily for an ISA.
- nradov 2y agoBankruptcy courts have pretty wide latitude to modify or terminate most types of agreements that create a financial obligation or liability. Certain types of student loans are excepted but not much else.
- refulgentis 2y agoI've followed Sandofsky for years, brilliant mind, and shaves ever more of the aggro edge off it, but it's still there. This is brilliant writing. Absolutely top-notch. This is the most minor of nits: The moment for me was the abrupt shift to a paragraph about "Utah MLM"...then you remember the un-needed reference to Mormon missionary...and you wince, then smile, "Ben...you still got it, baby" Of course it's all fine and it's all understandable because he's from Utah and Mormon and Utah has a lot of MLMs. And it's relevant later anyway, it illustrates that it's a Potemkin village company / depths of humiliation that Austin moved back to Utah. Blah blah blah. But a really good example younger me, and even today me, would learn from. Stay focused. Delete the punches that feel good, and you excuse by saying they drive the point home / are explicit. People understood what you're saying without it, so it reads as gratituous.
- walterburns 2y agoI found the article compelling and illuminating, but I wish someone had proofread it for the grammar. Half a dozen times I had to reread a sentence and concluded it wasn't correct English syntax.