NEWS worthy Clips (3/3)

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NEWS worthy Clips

Cell phones on campus make cutting the umbilical cord more difficult

All those cell phones on college campuses aren’t just talking to each other. They’re (one phrase) home. A lot.

Got a problem with university bureaucracy? Mom and Dad will know what to do. Think you just blew a chemistry exam? Unload on the folks.

Not to mention the calls going the other direction. “One mom mentioned that she calls her son to wake him up in the morning,” said Sandy Waddell, assistant dean of students at Rockhurst University. “She said if she didn’t, he might not make it to class. I told her I thought that was a bit (one phrase).”

Young adults in college are supposed to practice and prove their independence. All that contact, used the wrong way, can impede those goals, student affairs experts say.

Waddell said about half the students on campus had cell phones a few years ago. Now, nearly every student does. At (one phrase), Waddell tells parents the college years are a time for emancipation, when young adults learn to handle matters on their own.

Parents should analyze the content of calls, said Karen Levin Coburn of Washington University in St. Louis. It’s a problem if students want their parents to swoop in at any sign of trouble. and professor problems, writing assignment troubles, roommate disagreements, all can and should be handled by the student with resources on campus.

“They learn that there’s another way to solve problems,” Coburn said.

The cell phone no doubt can be a conduit in a close parent-child relationship. One thing is certain: Everyday contact between young adults and their parents is the new normal. Marjorie Savage, parent program director at the University of Minnesota, says, “One thing we really have to keep in mind is that life is not like it was when we went to college.”

Vocabulary Focus

impede (v) ---to slow down the advancement of something

emancipation (n) ---a state of freedom gained after a long period of having one’s activities limited

conduit (n) ---a path or passageway

Specialized terms

orientation (n) ---新生座谈会activities and programs designed to help new students get to know their school