Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / March 24, 2010, edition 1 / Page 8
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Whines & Gripes Collected by Jillian Curtis To the author of the article dissing Whines & Gripes; while I am utterly grateful that I’m not starving like people in Haiti, I’m still paying over 30,000 dol lars a year to eat a steady diet of under cooked grilled cheese and greasy chicken tenders. So yes, I would like some cheese with that whine. It’ll probably be the best meal that I’ve had all semester! Dear Meredith English Department: Can you please give advanced students the option of combining ENGiii and ENG200. I’m wasting my time in reme dial classes. Why are there no more 2 bedrooms available in The Oaks??!?! Dear “Doctor” at the Health Center: is there a way for you to be on campiis for more than 3 hours a week? Dear suitemate: trying to study for mid terms while listening to you sing along to the Backstreet Boys is really getting old. To the Meredith Education Department: It would be really helpful if you’d prepare us for the Praxis test (you know, that big test that’ll determine the rest of our lives) Is Hovering Smothering? p R. Browder, E. Gamiel, and L. Triplett, Contributing Writers When people become parents, their highest goal is to nurture their child to become an independent, responsible, contributing member of society. An alarming number of parents have taken this responsi bility to the extreme and created a generation of students who are ill prepared for making adult decision in college. Helicopter parenting is the new term that college administra tors have coined to describe them. Helicopter parents are over protec tive and the result is a generation of young adults who are incapable of handling decision-making, failure, or disappointment. According to Bar bara Kantrowitz and Peg "Tyre in the article “The Fine Art of Letting Go,” helicopter parents who are driven to over-parent by methods of over-in volvement, risk crippling their child’s fledgling sense of self-sufficiency. Studies show that helicopter parent ing is harmful to the development of successful decision-making skills in young adults, and what used to be an isolated occurrence has become a generational problem. Parental involvement is always welcome in any academic institution however; parental over involvement can become detrimental to the indi vidual student resulting in a higher freshman attrition rate. Some schools are posting an attrition rate of 30% or more Dr. Danny Green, Office of Enrollment, Meredith College, stated that the freshman attrition rate for Meredith has remained steady at approximately 23% over the last ten years. In personal interviews with Meredith College students, some interesting perspectives on how these hovering parents have directly affected the students were revealed. Socially, academically, and emotion ally students with hovering parents show a remarkable dependency upon their parents for emotional and academic support. Jordan Gutshall, a sophomore at Meredith College admits to recognizing that the paren tal hovering was in effect by age 13. “The hovering began when I got my first cell phone. Also, when I got my first boyfriend in the 8th grade, the intensity of the hovering increased and my mother became even more involved in my personal life,” said Gutshall. She went on to admit that she communicates with her parents more then 4-6 times during an aver age day. Gutshall said, “Mom gets very upset if she does not talk to me before bed.” Gutshall has developed a unique rational about the exces sive hovering of her parents. She assumes that because she is the only daughter, this kind of behavior is completely normal between parent and child. In the article When Does Mother ing Become Smothering? Part 2, Susan Newman quotes colleague Patricia Somers: “60-70% of par ents are involved in some kind of helicoptering behavior.” There is no division between racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic status. The compel ling arguments in favor of helicopter parenting, is by parents claiming that they only want the best outcome for their children. When the parents lose perspective and cross the line between supportive parenting and over parenting, the children suffer the consequences. Susan Newman states: “...while parents can play a positive role helping children surmount oc casional academic speed bumps, it can be a slippery slope from support ive stewardship to intrusive concern. It is important to remember college students are a few short years away from the time they will be called upon to make life-changing decisions. Parents who have shielded children from the process and responsibilities of decision-making have done them no favors.” Even though parents of college stu dents will try to justify their helicopter status by the rising tuition costs and the financial investment they have in their children, helicopter parenting is a .style of “smothering love” that be gan early in the child’s life. These par ents started over parenting as early as the first trimester of pregnancy by planning for childcare in utero and fu ture college plans were established in preschool. This is a weak argument to justify their continued over parent ing style at age 18 simply because of their financial investment. The under-developed students that represent their parent’s finan cial investments of the past four years create a serious risk to the investment by having a potentially high rate of frustration and even tual failure in many aspects of their adult life. These parents use the argument that they are ‘protecting their investment’ but in the end. Apple iPad: Enough Innovation to Compensate for the Name? Chelsea McGlaughlin, Contributing Writer Apple calls it “a magical and revo lutionary product at an unbelievable price” (Apple Inc., 2010). Weighing only 1.5 pounds (Wi-Fi only) or 1.6 pounds (3G capability), the iPad is sleek and thin. The device measures 9.56” X 7.47” andjust .5” thick. But what is it? Essentially the iPad combines the features of an iPod with those of an e-book reader and a tablet computer. Despite its unfortunate name (hours after the iPad reveal in January, feminine hygiene jokes flooded the Internet), the newest Apple gadget might just be another smash hit. Cool features of the $499 device include automatically adjusting orientation (portrait and landscape modes), a battery capable of lasting lo hours, built-in customizable cal endars, a contact organizer, Google maps, a note-taking program, and Multi-Touch technology similar to that used for the iPhone. Accessories include a case and a full-size key board which doubles as a charging dock. With built-in Wi-Fi (and 3G capability on some models), users can browse the Web using Apple’s Safari web browser. Using a finger or two, one can easily flick through webpages and zoom in or out on photos. Composing e-mails is easy with iPad’s onscreen keyboard, and videos look beautiful on iPad’s high-resolution 9.7-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen. Organizing photos is simple with the iPad. Pictures received in e-mail can be saved directly to the device. All photos are sorted into stacks and classified by event, and the iPad allows users to flip through their collection as if they were looking at prints. When the iPad is charging or docked, the device doubles as a photo frame. ITie App Store will give iPad users access to over 150,000 applica tions. 'The iPod app, coupled with iTunes, allows users to sync their music collection to their new gadget. The iBooks app turns the iPad into an Amazon Kindle competitor and transforms the screen into a virtual bookshelf. According to http://www. pcworld.com/article/190996/ apple_rolls_out_tv_ad_for_ipad. html/, preorders for the device will begin on March 12. The iPad will of ficially launch on April 3, and the 3G version will arrive later that month. Visit http://www.apple.com/ipad/ for additional features, full tech specs, videos, and photos. Townhouse for Rent! $1120/month. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1700+ sq. feet of space. Great for two or three people! Located off Tryon between Gorman and Lake Wheeler. Available after May 1st. Please email candlmb@yahoo.com If Interested.
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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March 24, 2010, edition 1
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