Procession Of The Tail Lights

Final exams are on and people are starting to leave as soon as they have finished. North Franklin Street is filled with tail lights as our once and future students leave for other parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

They are once again freed from the college rules that are, in many ways, so unfair:

(a) You can't have your boy/girl friend in your room after 2:00am.
(b) You can't bring alcohol back from off-campus parties.
(c) You can't cut more than three classes.
(d) There are only five stations in the food court.

In exchange, you get the much looser family rules:

(a) You think for one moment you are going to have your boy/girl friend in your room with the door closed until 2:00am? You got another think coming.
(b) Don't even think of going to a party where there is alcohol, not while you're living under my roof.
(c) No, you can't take a day off from work because you got wasted last night.
(d) You eat what I made for supper; what do you think this is, college?

I doubt that the policy of "three unexcused cuts" is good training for the real world where I have seen a sign prominently posted: "If you don't show up today, don't show up tomorrow." The idea never seems to occur that your off-campus drinking party that gets busted by the cops later comes around to bite you in the butt when you are faced on your job application by the question, "Have you ever been arrested?"

We teach them how to learn; I'm not sure we teach them how to grow up.