Friday, October 19, 2001

Parents press universities to assume responsibility
By Elise Rambaud
Associate Campus Editor

In 1874, parents of AddRan Male and Female Academy students were advised to deposit student spending money with the treasurer of the Board of Trustees to avoid extravagance and wasteful spending. According to the annual catalogue, parents were warned that some students could be trusted with their own personal finances, but others could not.

The university also assured parents that no student would return home from college without the slightest stain upon his moral character or the faintest blot upon his social worth.

Historically, universities were expected to act in loco parentis, or in place of the parent to govern students’ social, moral and academic interests. Universities are no longer required to assume a parental role, but many still feel an obligation to do so.

According to the 2001 Honor Code, Brigham Young University students are prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea or coffee and women’s skirts must be knee-length or longer.TCU has come a long way from imposing dress codes, curfews, dating protocol and regulating almost all aspects of student life from libido to laundry. Fewer rules regulate student behavior now, but certain expectations and attitudes favoring TCU’s obligation to act in loco parentis still remain.

The shift away from the in loco parentis was attributed to Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education in 1961 when the Supreme Court ruled that students were entitled to due process at tax-supported universities before the student could be expelled for misconduct. Following this ruling, the Supreme Court recognized persons more than 18 years old as legal adults and fundamental constitutional rights are not surrendered by accepting student status.

Stan Carpender, a professor of educational administration at Texas A&M University, said the doctrine of in loco parentis has been replaced by the notion of a “special relationship” between the student and the university, which may choose to fulfill a “duty to care or protect.” The definition of this special relationship has not yet been settled, Carpender said.“The concept (of the special relationship and duty to care) generates vague terms, and (universities and courts) don’t really know what they mean, but those terms sure can bite you in the butt,” he said.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills said recent court rulings have marked a backward change in the trend, with universities being expected to take on more of a parental role in regards to student safety.

Mills referred to the case at Pine Manor College in Massachusetts where a student was assaulted on campus. The courts ruled against the university, stating that the university had a greater obligation to protect the safety of students while on campus.

According to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article, the family of former student Bryan Boyd sued TCU after Boyd was beaten severely in a fight with four TCU football players outside a downtown Fort Worth bar in 1996. The family argued that TCU violated its duty to supervise football players and provide a safe environment for students away from the campus. All five men were TCU students at the time, but the courts ruled in favor of the university.

Roger Fisher, director of Residential Services said TCU struggles to balance parental and student expectations. In loco parentis is an antiquated concept in the minds of students and in the minds of people who work in higher education, but parents do not want to give up on it, he said.

“What remains of in loco parentis is the parents’ expectations from the university,” Fisher said, “Some parents still want students to be treated at school like they would be at home, to be coddled and baby-sat, but many students go to college to get away from mother and to be treated like an adult,” he said.

Chancellor Michael Ferrari said parents often expect the university to tell them whether a student has been eating well, going to class, getting in trouble or getting good grades. Parents are encouraged to talk to their son or daughter about their academic performance, he said.

Mike Sacken, a professor of education, said TCU parents expect attention that would be unrealistic at a large state university.

“TCU students are higher maintenance than the students I taught in state schools, but they go to TCU because they are willing to pay for my time and they deserve my attention,” Sacken said.

Mike Russel, associate dean of Campus Life, said one way universities have moved away from the parental role add is by forming a stronger relationship with the student than the parent.

According to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), student records containing information about disciplinary action and academic performance are confidential.

A parent may access student records if the parent claims the student as a dependent on their annual tax returns, Russel said.

Russel said as of last year, parents may be notified of alcohol violations upon second violation.

However, Wendy Crowly, assistant director of financial services, said parents are actually notified of the first alcohol violation if the student account bill is sent to the parents’ address. Fines for alcohol violations and parking tickets are charged to the student’s account and clearly marked as “alcohol/drug policy violation” and “parking fine.”

Crowly said even if the student pays for the fines, the items will be credited, but will still appear on the student account bill.

Ferrari said: “I would think with any kind of university fine the student should have the opportunity to pay the fine without it appearing on the bill.”Fisher said “send home,” referring to charges such as fines, food, textbooks, laundry, copies and vending sent to the student account, is an inaccurate term because the bill is addressed to the student and sent to the requested billing address.Crowly said 465 student account bills were sent to TCU box addresses out of 6,700 undergraduate bills.

When asked if charging alcohol violation and parking fines to the student’s account postpones or deflects student responsibility, Crowly said, “It reflects the general social attitude of ‘buy now, pay later.’ ”

Ferrari said: “If by providing certain conveniences and making it easier for students, we may also be enabling them to stay in a situation that is inconsistent with their maturation process (send-home fees) may be something to look into.”

Sacken said he believes the residuals of in loco parentis at TCU do not stem from rules and regulations, but from the relationships between students and faculty and staff.

Sacken said he is happy to stand in place of the parent and said he often feels like a surrogate father to students who seek his guidance.

“There are students here who have never had an adult relationship with a parental figure all throughout high school, and now that they are old enough to see the possible value of that kind of relationship, they seek it out in college,” Sacken said.

Sacken said students come to him and ask for advice about how to confront their parents with issues such as declaring a sexual preference, being on psychotropic medication and being diagnosed with depression.

“Students need someone who is not distant and remote but at the same time does not sit in the position of judgment and control like a real parent does,” Sacken said. “That need for balance befuddles me, but drives me.”

Elise Rambaud
e.j.rambaud@student.tcu.edu