The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents has effected an ‘over-62’ policy, which grants all university applicants over the age of 62 a four-year college education, or class auditing, entirely tuition free.
In GSU-62, the corresponding program at Georgia State, applicants must meet the institution’s admission requirements, provide state residency proof, and wait until late registration to sign up for classes, based on a space-available procedure.
For Damian Whitaker, 67-year-old Georgia State student, going to class is not about a degree.
“I don’t see that I have any use for a second Masters, or a PhD,” he said, explaining he is not following a degree program.
Joseph Crews, another GSU-62 student, said he felt now was the time to conquer the courses he had always yearned for, yet could never before pursue.
“It was like finding a bunch of money on a snow pile,” said Crews, 81.
Crews started his college career in 1953, wanting to become a teacher, and then a doctor. Two extensive cancer treatments, military service, a marriage and a daughter later, in 1996 Crews obtained a degree in business from Miami-Dade College.
Retiring at 77, he moved to Georgia to be close to his daughter, and joked around the dinner table about going back to college.
“I applied online, and my first day on campus, I walked into Sparks Hall and got lost,” Crews said with a chuckle. “I got lost in the first building I entered.”
Ameedah Abdullah, 63, said after she found out the program was free, “it was almost sinful not to go.”
A GSU-62 student, Abdullah is studying social work, for nothing short of a major cause for her community.
“I have dealt with mental health problems in the past, and I want to get this degree to be able to start a nonprofit rehabilitation center,” she said. “I have written a book on mental challenges, faith, and self-medication, and now I feel it’s time to help get rid of the social stigma around it.”
Abdulla said she plans to pursue a Master’s degree, reminding the lost and confused that it’s never too late to do what you love. She said it was a reoccurring dream that convinced her it was time to go back. That dream had her running all around campus, wondering where her degree was.
“That’s when I realized I had to come get that degree,” she said.
Getting an education, however, is no walk in the park for some senior citizens. Whitaker said he often has trouble with the police acknowledging his enrollment.
“They stop me just to ask me to show them my Panther ID, and when I do, they call in to check my registration status,” he said.
But being questioned by authority doesn’t stop Whitaker’s roaming around. He just wishes he could have a community of other students his age to share their experiences.
“I know there’s the Non-traditional Students Association which would include GSU-62 students, but I think the older students deserve an organization of their own, to share the common interests and concerns,” he said.
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