7/21/2005 09:21:00 AM|||Sarah|||

CNN's website has an article this morning about the increasing number of college students who are choosing to live with their parents instead of moving into the dorms or an apartment. The article states that at least 37% of students do not move out of the house when college starts. Mistake!

I work on the MTSU campus, and it is almost entirely a commuter school. Students drive to campus (the parking lots are full by 8:00am), take their classes and drive home. There is no sense of school spirit and I rarely see campus activity in the student union. How do you get alumni to have pride in (or give money to) a place they barely knew? It's no wonder that the faculty and staff are practically begged to attend football games. When I was in college (GO TERPS!), the campus was always buzzing with political discussions, sporting events, cultural activities and frisbee on the lawn. To me, this exposure to new ideas and people is one of the most important aspects of college. Dropout rates are higher for commuter students, and a main reason is that lack of connection to the institution.

I see the decision to live at home as based on two factors. One is the fear of growing up and leaving mommy and daddy. Eighteen-year-olds are stuck in that odd phase in which they want independence and freedom to make mistakes, but still want their parents to bail them out and take care of life's basic responsibilities. The other factor is that students are told that starting life after college with debt from student loans is a fate worse than any other. I just don't agree, and I think that parents and high school guidance counselors do a huge disservice here. Unlike the credit card debt you accumulate from late nights at the bars around Vandy (ahem, Nathan), student loans are an investment in a better future.

So, you young coeds, move out from under the protective wing of your parents! Stop mooching and grow up!

|||112195794020267725|||Move Out!