And it is not just room and board. Slavery gave that much to the slaves. And that wasn't free to the slaves either, they had to work for it or be flogged or worse.

With the scholarship, there is something more tangible. When you are done, you have something to show for it and a way to provide for yourself, which slavery did not provide, either. No one is going to beat or kill you if you do not do what you are told, either.

The slavery comparison is ridiculous.

the problem is that many of the players making this argument today do not value that degree and what it can offer, the doors it can open for them, like they should. That is the disconnect.