My eyes and my heart were drawn to a front-page story about college students and their parents in today’s New York Times. However, my journalistic brain got mad.
The story says that colleges are increasingly trying to get “Velcro parents” (a new term to me) to “back off so students can develop independence.” As the parent of twins who started college today, I can relate to parental curiosity about how their offspring are adjusting and the emotional upheaval of the empty nest.
Then I read more closely.
The story cites two colleges that have formal ceremonies marking separation between parent and child. Morehouse College (enrollment: 2,689) has a “parting ceremony.” Grinnell College (enrollment: 1,688) tells parents they must leave at a certain time. The story also quotes a Colgate University (enrollment: 2,837) official who “plans to drop” hints that parents should leave.
That’s it. Two, maybe three, smaller schools.
The story also mentions that the University of Minnesota has a reception for parents while students meet roommates, but that’s hardly an indication of separation anxiety.
Otherwise, the story relies on atypical anecodotes, or the the weird-parent stories that administrators tell. Every profession has them. Cops tell about the stupid crook who left his ID at the scene of the crime. Customer service folks tell about the caller who wondered why his computer wouldn’t work when the electricity was out. Disney guides tell about park-goers who ask when the 3 p.m. parade will come by.
Such stories make for good copy. But the unusual is not the ordinary. The Times story cited “for evidence” a single posting on a website by a parent asking if he or she should stick around after dropping off a child. A single post is not “evidence.”
Trend stories require more evidence than two or three examples and outlandish examples.
