College students have changed dramatically since the days I roamed the Ole Miss campus. I am sure you are thinking this was 10-15 years ago. Unfortunately, in just the 5 years after completing my undergraduate education, I have witnessed significant changes. I may not have been aware if these changes were taking place while I was enrolled, but the changes I have noticed seem to be pretty surprising while looking from the outside! Also, since my education has been limited to Ole Miss, these my ideas may be something that exists only at our institution, but I, regretfully, do not think that is the case. This posting is not necessarily a ranting and raving tirade but merely my opinion on how students have changed for the worse in such a short amount of time.

I often wonder what happened to preaching responsibility while growing up? The phenomenon that has evolved lately, “helicopter parents,” is something that drives me crazy. These parents do everything for their students. I understand that it is important to have a part in your child’s life, but is it important to know your student’s Webmail password so you can check to make sure Professor Smith has e-mailed the proper assignment? At Orientation sessions each year, it seems that parents have more and more control over the decisions students make regarding what classes they take, what student groups they join, and who their friends are, to name a few. It is frustrating that these “helicopters” want to sit in on job interviews, e-mail professors concerning grades, etc. It makes me wonder if this is a psychological shift among the parents and students to where responsibility is no longer a theme in growing up. In my opinion, responsibility is the root of the problems associated with college students today.

Despite this lack of responsibility, there are students who strive themselves to become better students and citizens. There are students leading student organizations on campus as well as volunteering at various locations around the University and in the City of Oxford. These students are leading by example, but who follows these leaders? It seems that some students feel that they can live and do however they want. They have an increased sense of pride because they have not faced failure. They have been constantly praised for doing just about anything. I still think back to the times when I didn’t get an award just for competing, or I did not make every team I tried out for. By not facing failures such as these, children/students do not learn to strive to do better. Education seems to be one of the only areas that has not changed towards this mindset. For example, if you fail a test, you fail a test. You don’t get credit for trying.
This generation of students has been growing up with online social networking and a digital age that limits face-to-face interaction with the use of text messaging, instant messaging, and E-mail. College administrators struggle keeping up with the rapidly developing area of technology. Questions are often asked regarding how to communicate with students. Technology seems to become out-dated on a constant basis. Besides the idea of lack of responsibility among college students, communication methods with college students worry me just as much. Developing interpersonal skills is a thing of the past by not working directly with people.

Like I said, this entry is not a rant and rave about how college students could do better. My few thoughts are merely ideas of how students should improve in order to succeed.