College has changed quite a bit. At least that’s what school websites and pamphlets will tell you. But has it really?
Standard dorm room in 1929
For one thing, colleges have grown quite a bit. In the late 1920s, dorms were nowhere near as crowded as they have become today. This was the generation that started to want to go to college; their parents often would disagree with the decision because, in their time, it wasn’t stressed as important for getting a job.
There were fewer people, but the dorms were still equipped to a higher standard than they are today. In the 1920s, running water and a phone were not the norm. Today, many dorm rooms have running water and do not need a phone: students have their own. But these are standard features in homes.
So What About It?
Because colleges have gotten bigger, the accommodations have declined, naturally, as the student body increases. After all, it is much harder to furnish all of the beds of 10,000 students rather than 100. So it must only be natural that the schools are not as invested in student’s progress as they were before, right?
I happen to disagree. With all of the technology and resources that college campuses have, it is much easier to get in contact with the students at a college. If a student refuses help and refuses to get serious about his work, I don’t believe that a college should chase after him and coddle him in hopes of a reformation. That’s not likely and, quite honestly, it’s a waste of time.
I do think that there should be more of a balance of the college reaching out to students while the students also reach out to the college. I’m sure we’ve all been warned by one teacher in either middle school or high school that “your college professor isn’t going to hold your hand. You need to manage your own work.” What if this wasn’t the case? I’m not advocating hand holding, instead, I’m advocating mutual contact.
