Something has changed in the ten years since I started college, and it's the parents. The amount of phone calls and emails I get from parents is unreal. This week was registration for freshmen, and I am shocked at the number of parents that are actually doing the registration for their students, or trying to fight their battles for them. I had one very angry mom call me this morning about her daughter not getting into a summer class, which is now full. My parents would have NEVER called the university on my behalf unless I seriously needed help with something and was not able to resolve it on my own. But the majority of the time, I don't hear from the students first. I'm not a scary person, or unapproachable, so I don't see why this is happening. I'm sure the helicopter parent issue will only get worse with time, and I hope that I instill a sense of responsibility in my own kids to take care of problems on their own. Especially after the age of 18!

In other work related topics...
-University of Pittsburgh just a couple miles down the road has had 100+ bomb threats in in the past two months. Now I bet THEY have some angry parents!
-A students left my office the other day, and her friend that works our front desk said she tweeted, "just met with my advisor and now I feel like a failure." Yes, people. That is my mission.
-Another student told me he would never want my job. Thank you, sir.