UTEX2011: “Let’s say another student was in a bind and missed the quiz because they set their alarm for p.m. instead of a.m, another was in a bind because of an accident on the freeway and was late and missed the quiz, another because they had to take care of her ailing pet. Where is the line drawn? That was my only question.”
OP, While I appreciate your zealousness in protecting your point-of-view in the face of great logic, wisdom, and experience, I think your premise is incorrect. You seem to be under the misguided assumption that colleges don’t ever make allowances for students who have personal issues. I work for a private college and I can assure you that they do. Allowances are made for every case you mentioned. So the answer to your question “where is the line drawn?” is wherever colleges want it. This isn’t an issue of people bending or breaking the rules; it’s a matter of you not liking the rules that exist. I don’t believe colleges will care.
Is the woman you’re referring to a single mom? Your comments make me wonder about your opinion of young and/or unwed parents. She’s not permitted to use social media? She’s irresponsible if she can’t find childcare every single time she needs it? Who made you the judge of what’s appropriate behavior for young moms? It’s quite an extrapolation to get from one professor making an allowance for one young mother to the entire collegiate universe being forced to allow students to provide on-site elder care and professors to work with babes in hand. Where’s your outrage for the absence of the dad? Why not challenge the lack of supports, including affordable childcare, for single parents? You don’t like it, so it’s wrong? You’re welcome to write to the colleges and tell them so, but there are ~3,000 colleges in the US so that could be costly. It will also be a waste of your time and money.
If you don’t like colleges whose missions involve supporting the whole student, don’t attend them. But don’t expect them to change their operating procedures because you don’t like them. Frankly, I find your insistance that there should never be any allowances made for people, ever, and your opinion that people who disagree with you are “sheltered,” rather concerning. That rigidity won’t serve you, or the communities you move in, very well.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: This is not a debate site. The thread has gone on for four pages. Closing.