Last week, a North Carolina group put computers into the hands of 800 students who are first in their families to attend college. The million-dollar tech push aims to knock down walls that block many from joining the online world.
Students at four state schools – Johnson C. Smith, Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, and Winston-Salem State – got the machines from E2D (Eliminate the Digital Divide). These tools will help students who couldn’t buy computers for their studies.
“It’s going to be a lot easier for these students to be able to do their work,” said Pat Millen, president and co-founder of E2D, according to Spectrum News 1. “To get from that first day of school to the graduation line is fraught with peril — it’s expensive, it’s difficult, and that’s why only 27% of first-generation students get to the finish line. Not having a computer is not a good reason not to get there.”…