Education: Hard Sell for Higher Learning

With enrollment and budgets down, colleges cater to the kids

BLOW YOUR MIND! READ A BOOK, trumpets the advertisement. TAKE A CLASS YOU CAN GET YOUR TEETH INTO, heralds a notice listing courses in art history. WANT TO LEARN RUSSIAN BUT THINK IT'S TOO HARD? wheedles a bold message. TRY RUSSIAN 10.

A college literary prank? Come-ons by some undergraduate entrepreneur? Not at all. These ads, sponsored by English, art, history and language departments, appear in a courses and curriculum guide that circulates on the University of California's Riverside campus. They signal a serious trend....

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