College As Nursery School With Beer
Sue Shellenbarger writes in the WSJ about colleges' push to coddle all the poor booboos "suffering" from homesickeness. (Contrast these pussies with kids who go into the military.) Gotta love the title of the piece, "New Help for Homesick Students on Campus":
Homesickness is more than a childish failure to separate from Mom and Dad, researchers say. For many, it involves a more complicated, amorphous set of feelings tied to being home, including a longing for predictability, routine, familiarity and comfort, says a recent analysis of 34 in-depth interviews with homesick people led by Kristina Scharp, an assistant professor of communication studies at Utah State University, Logan. "It's not just a place, it's a feeling" of fitting in and being safe and loved, one participant said....Counselors at The Ohio State University ask homesick students, "What are you missing from home? Is there a way we can have some of that here?" says Micky Sharma, director of the university's Counseling and Consultation Service and president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors.
Universities are expanding programs to evoke homey feelings. Ohio State recently held a "recess" on campus to promote mental health, offering art projects, therapy dogs and an inflatable "bounce house" like those used at children's parties.
The University of Minnesota has held weekly pet-visiting sessions at several locations for the past 2½ years, drawing as many as 280 students to cuddle therapy dogs, rabbits and a chicken named Woodstock. Petting dogs during study breaks reduces anxiety and sadness in students, according to a 2015 study in the International Journal of Stress Management.
A bouncy house? For college students?
Hello?
Sound the news that America is over.
Now, now. The little snowflakes will be just fine if somebody cuts the crust of their sammich bread like Mommy used to do.
Bolillo_SCZ at October 20, 2015 10:07 PM
I think it's worse than that, because while many schools install all these superficial things, when a student really needs help, is withdrawing from classes, or life, and needs some personal counseling and attention and yes, even monitoring and hand holding, EVEN calling a parent to do the above, I've seen many cases where the schools do nothing.
Oh, poor Janey fell through the cracks, our bad, it's a shame she didn't make it to the petting dog sessions.
jerry at October 20, 2015 10:53 PM
When I was in college it was a thing for the frats to get bouncy houses for their parties.
Our campus services were a joke. The most famous (on campus) was the onsite medical professional -- supposedly higher trained than a nurse but not actually an MD -- diagnosed a sprained ankle as mono. Yes there was a lawsuit with school paying the medical bills at the emergency room.
No therapy dogs...just the neighbors' dogs who mistook the university for a dog park.
The Former Banker at October 20, 2015 11:41 PM
Hmmm ... I'll bet damn near everyone of these homesickness sufferers is female.
Damn the patriarchy.
Jeff Guinn at October 21, 2015 1:24 AM
People have bouncy castles at home? If homesickness is about missing the things and routines you have at home then why are a bunch of things completely unrelated to your home life offered as treatment? I'd be horrified if a doctor worked this way.
Ah, you have a cold, guess we'll have to amputate your left pinky toe. Ah, your appendix burst, I'll get some goose fat you can rub all over your body to get slippery.
Ben at October 21, 2015 6:18 AM
Jerry has the gist of it. The whiners, the ones who expect college to be a four-year-long party watched over by permissive parents who clean up all the messes, get as much attention as they want. The students who really need help? Nah, dealing with them takes too much effort. And it doesn't win you brownie points with OCR.
Cousin Dave at October 21, 2015 7:43 AM
I believe these snowflakes need a session with Dr. Denis Leary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YlJ8KU-akw
Dave L. at October 21, 2015 8:37 AM
"Nursery school with beer"
I'm going to have to steal that. What a perfect description.
Mike at October 21, 2015 8:41 AM
Were is the beer? I was told there would be beer in this topic! I demand a refund!
I R A Darth Aggie at October 21, 2015 9:25 AM
I suggest that the colleges which have decided to cater to these "special little snowflakes" be set aside as a new type of insane asylum, and opened to anyone who feels the need to be there.
Meanwhile, maybe the rest of us can open a few REAL universities, to challenge people by confronting them with "unsafe" ideas. Ya think?
jdgalt at October 21, 2015 9:48 AM
At what point do these precious snowflakes get trained for adulthood?
When I was in college, the only people who got their hands held were the athletes in the major sports programs (football, basketball, etc.). Every one else was left on their own to arrange tutoring, psychological help, etc. Services were available, but with the caveat that they were staffed by student volunteers fulfilling service time requirements.
Student health services were a joke. This story might be an escaped prisoner with a hook hand folk tale, but we heard about one guy who went in on a Saturday after injuring his arm in a softball game and was told he had cancer (huge dark area on his x-ray) and might lose his arm by the SHS resident (med student with a doctor complex). He was referred to the hospital for a Monday follow-up. He called his parents who came rushing to the school to be with their son in his hour of need. On Monday, hospital resident (actual doctor) told him he had a large bruise and to put ice on it.
Perhaps some of use might have turned out to be better adjusted adults if we'd had a petting zoo or bouncy house with which to relieve stress as students.
When I was checking friend into rehab, the counselor told me he was using alcohol as a coping mechanism and they were going to work with him to give him better coping mechanisms. Perhaps programs like this are building better coping mechanisms. Or, perhaps they're turning us into a nation of wimps. I guess we'll find out.
Conan the Grammarian at October 21, 2015 9:51 AM
I'm sorry but when I went off to the dorm (only a 1.5hr bus ride away) I had so much fun I almost flunked. Homesick? My parents barely heard from me. I only went home when the dorms closed at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Spring break went camping.
Now of course who wouldn't want to go pet a bunch of puppies, but what business is that of the school? Legally these "kids" are adults. But I guess only "legally".
Craig at October 21, 2015 10:36 AM
But they're stressed!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXRviuL6vMY
mmmwright at October 21, 2015 11:13 AM
a recent analysis of 34 in-depth interviews with homesick people
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Kevin at October 21, 2015 12:04 PM
My story sounds like Craig's. My parents didn't even help me move to college. My boyfriend helped me move down. And then they hardly heard from me. Not that I don't love my parents...
On a similar note, I was eight years old the first time I went away to camp for a week. When my parents came to pick me up I BEGGED to stay another week and they gave in. They turned around and left me there for another week. After I got home one of my mom's friends asked me "didn't you get homesick?" I look at my mom and said "was I supposed to?"
Kind of like the discussion the other day on being traumatized. Maybe if we don't know we're supposed to be...
Jill at October 21, 2015 12:33 PM
One of the things I appreciated about going to school in the early 1980s was that most colleges had largely abandoned the "loco parentis" role at that point. The school I went to took the attitude of "Guidance office is on the second floor if you need it. Other than that, it's up to you. If you're hung over and don't show up for class, that's not our problem." And that was the way that I liked it. I was tired of being watched over. I wanted to do things myself and make my own decisions, and if I made a mistake I'd fix it. I appreciated that the school did not try to compel me to attend quasi-therapy sessions that I did not need or want, to fix issues that I did not have.
Cousin Dave at October 21, 2015 1:49 PM
This sounds ridiculous, like something for an elementary school birthday party. When I was 11 my mom sent me to gymnastics camp. It was a month long and held on a college campus. We stayed in dorm rooms and had meal cards for the cafeteria. We were responsible for taking ourselves to and from practices and activities on time in the various buildings on and around campus, which involved walking there crossing busy streets in town. We fed ourselves, did our own laundry, had a curfew, etc. The closest we had to supervision was during the hours of practice and other activities while we were at them and we had a counselor on each dorm floor to make sure we made curfew and to talk to in case we had some sort of problem. That's it. They still offer the camp, but now it's only a week long and fully helicoptered at all times. A friend I had gone with way back when sent her daughter this summer and apparently they have to do everything in fully supervised groups which includes eating, going to practice, etc. You can't go anywhere without a buddy including showering. You aren't allowed out of the dorm buildings without an adult. It's shocking how much things have changed in the 20-something years since I went.
BunnyGirl at October 21, 2015 6:01 PM
College as Nursery School with Beer
THAT is why I so hated my freshman year of college.
I was the first in my family to attend college; I knew the hard work I did and the sacrifices my parents made to get that opportunity for me; and, boy, did I resent the assholes who thought college was nothing but high school without adult supervision.
My freshman dorm life was just plain awful. Nothing but a bunch of drunk assholes! Vomit and pee in the hallways, pulling the fire alarm several times a night - because stoned drunks find that funny!
Okay, so shut the fuck up at 3:00 AM, and let me get some sleep so that I can attend my 9:00 AM class or get to my Saturday morning job on time.
And, now, these brats need this kind of handholding nonsense? There isn't a river wide enough or deep enough to drown them all.
charles at October 21, 2015 9:23 PM
"At what point do these precious snowflakes get trained for adulthood?"
They don't. They compel the political system to bring adulthood down to their level. And there will be enough of them to out-vote anyone who thinks otherwise.
Cousin Dave at October 22, 2015 7:54 AM
And look how well that's worked for us.
A rash of unwed mothers because having a child should be like playing with your dolls, right? Just pour the tea and magically, there's something in the cup.
Sports should be like a video game. Everyone can be the game's MVP. All it takes is wanting to and twiddling your thumbs quickly enough.
Work should be like a student extracurricular activity. No actual skills necessary and everyone gets the same compensation.
Conan the Grammarian at October 22, 2015 10:51 AM
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