Surprise visit making some parents squeamish
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama made an appearance at a school in Silver Spring, Md. Columnist Remy Albillar decides if there were any hidden motives behind the visit.
President Obama’s surprise visit to the Viers Mill Elementary School was apparently met with all smiles and celebrations. Nothing seems to excite yuppie parents in nice neighborhoods like the off chance that their golden calf, Obama, may make a trip to their child’s elementary school to chat with them and instill them with values of hope and change.
But, of course, there will soon be detractors who will be sure to make a noisy protest and start “”banning”” the president from certain elementary schools. There are those who are suspicious of Obama’s intention to indoctrinate the youth of the nation with his winning smile, easygoing charisma and shiny new peace prize. Without attempting to make any judgment calls about the president or his politics, they’re right to be suspicious.
All parents should be suspicious of those in power who talk to children; children are important objects in the realm of politics, both as potential victims and targets for rhetoric.
So while Obama isn’t trying to turn the children of America into swing voters for his 2020 re-re-election campaign, the president will quickly become the new violent video game: another catalyst for the types of conversations parents aren’t ready to have or don’t want to have with their children, who are learning about the world at an exponential rate as the Internet and surprise visits from the world’s most powerful administrator broaden their horizons a little too quickly.
An evil manipulator of children, Obama probably is not. A nightmare for lazy parents, however, he most definitely is.
— Remy Albillar is a junior majoring in English.
He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu
More students seeking help? It’s about time!
As reported on National Public Radio’s “”Morning Edition,”” colleges are seeing a dramatic increase in students who seek professional psychiatric help.
Based on data collected by the University of Michigan’s Daniel Eisenberg, 90 percent of college counseling services are reporting that they have seen a recent increase in the prevalence and severity of mental health issues in students.
Eisenberg points to earlier diagnoses and possible medication in high school to explain why our generation is seeing this increase.
Are college students crazier or more depressed than they were before? Hardly. This statistic is a good sign: maybe the stigma against getting professional help for mental health issues is finally lifting.
Being depressed is hard enough without fearing you will become a pariah for speaking out about it. It is a positive sign that so many more college students are seeking help.
— Anna Swenson is a sophomore majoring in English.
She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
