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John Singleton's Son Launches Go Fund Me To Pay For College

I had a good friend who, after our freshmen year of college, learned that her parents would no longer be paying for her education. She was on her own. They hadn’t lost their jobs. In fact they were doing quite well financially. And, as far as I knew, she hadn’t done anything to displease them. She’d done well her first year. But for one reason or another, her parents felt it was time she stand on her own two feet and pay for school. So she had to take out some additional loans and work a part time job in addition to her coursework.

And while she made it, graduating a semester earlier than the rest of us, I know it wasn’t easy.

Apparently, my friend is not the only one facing this type of challenge.

Director John Singleton’s son, Maasai, has created a Go Fund Me page to help finance his last semester of college.

“So I’m using Go Fund Me to get tuition for the final semester because I was fortunate enough to be helped by my father up to this point but I need to make it this last semester on my own. And the timing of this information is such that I’m not eligible for a lot of financial aid options.” 

In an update for the page, Maasai writes that he was denied for a Sallie Mae student loan because he doesn’t have an established credit history of his own. So this means he applied without a cosigner.

I don’t want to be all up in the Singleton family business, but since Maasai is appealing for money, I do wonder why.

Is this some type of test to prove that Maasai can make it on his own in the real world? Is John trying to teach his song about the ways in which less privileged children live? I don’t get it. Perhaps this was Maasai’s idea. Maybe the two had a falling out and now the elder Singleton is forcing his son to come up with nearly $30,000.

It’s all strange to me.

I get parents not being able to pay for a child’s education. I even understand the merits and character paying for your own schooling will allow some people. What I don’t understand is leading your children to believe you’re going to be taking care of the bill only to spring a surprise on them later.

But that’s just me. I only know how my parents and I financed my education. They paid and I took out loans to make it happen.

Perhaps some of you have a different experience.

Did your parents stop paying for school at some point, before you graduated? Did they give a reason? Were you able to make ends meet and pay tuition or did you have to drop out?

In the case of John Singleton and his son, should people give to him, knowing his father has the means to pay for at least some of his schooling?

What do you think?

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