Coping Rooms on College Campuses
by Bob Branco
I can’t believe what’s happening on some college campuses today. If you are a student, and you can’t cope with the fact that Donald Trump is now the president of the United States, you now have access to a designated coping room where you can color with adult coloring books, use Play-Doh, and pet service dogs to help you with your emotional adjustment. I have no words. I really don’t. We’re talking about college students here, many of whom should be well-rounded young adults. It’s as if these kids suffered a personal tragedy, in which case they should stay home until they are able to get back on their scholastic feet.
When I was in college, I took my bumps and knocks and dealt with them. There were no spare rooms for coping. In fact, I was more concerned about passing a test than about who the president was. There were even times when I went to school while I had a stomachache, after I was in a car accident, and after the deaths of two of my uncles. While I had time to focus on these personal issues, I found the time to do what was required in my college courses. If I flunked a test, nobody gave me coloring books, a lump of Play-Doh, and a service dog.
Are our tax dollars paying for these coping rooms on college campuses? If a college student can’t mentally adjust to a new president of the United States, he should seek counseling. I think that a major part of this problem is because today’s generation was raised to “win” for losing. Quite often in today’s society, kids don’t know what it’s like to actually lose. That is, a lot of parents reward their children for losing in competitive events. If a child loses a dance contest, she will still get a new pair of dancing shoes. If a Little League baseball team is eliminated from the playoffs, the kids all get trophies anyway. Nowadays, there is little or no value to winning and losing. Therefore, by the time these kids are of college age, some are met with the harsh reality of real loss for the first time, even to the point where a small percentage of them burn cars and smash windows when they don’t get their way.
Well, I learned as a toddler that we can’t win them all. My parents taught me at a very young age to get over it and adjust if I lost privileges, games, or anything else life was going to deal me. Some modern parents worry themselves sick about how to confront their children with bad news. “Oh, my God! How do I tell Johnny he got a D in math?” Just tell him so he can face it! He’ll get over it. Tomorrow is a brand new day with more hopes and dreams.
(Originally published in Word Matters)
This article will also be appearing in my new book, Weighing Things Up; More Essays on Trends, Technology and Present-Day Society. It is the second edition of my original book, which is available on Amazon or by checking out www.dldbooks.com/robertbranco/
