The article had that vibe in it until the conculsions. The thesis is not to gut/avoid them entirely. Double-major, for example. Or allow that it's not worth taking out $250k in loans to get them, many people don't need to take them out. Fewer people will pursue these fields, but this might not reduce the quality of anyone's interaction with them, and possibly not the quantity either. Teaching: we should pay more, but that's another story.