It has come to my attention that Lakeland College has seemed to try to take on a parental role for its students.  By this I mean that the adults on campus are being treated as if they are children.

A perfect example is the elimination of Reading Day.  What was Reading Day, new freshmen may ask? Reading Day was the last Friday before exam week; there were no classes.  That Friday was a study day, and this was for both semesters.

Every spring semester Reading Day hosted what was called the Catalina Wine Mixer. This was an event where students who were of age would, typically, drink from sun up to sun down. Sometimes the Catalina Wine Mixer would get a little out of control, in that it would be a platform for under-aged students to consume alcohol as well.

Because of the incidents that would take place at the event, a unanimous decision was made to get rid of Reading Day. This was upsetting because there are students, like myself, who never participated in the Catalina Wine Mixer and actually took advantage of Reading Day and studied like we needed to.

Not to mention that the Catalina Wine Mixer was only once a year, and Reading Day occurred in both the fall and spring semesters.

My issue with this is that the entire school had to suffer repercussions instead of all of those who illegally participated in the Catalina Wine Mixer and those who did not do well with handling their liquor.

That action is extremely paternalistic because it is just like a mother punishing all of her children because one of them broke the window in the kitchen.

Lakeland College was not created to be every student’s parent.  Never should the entire campus reap the consequences of disobedient and reckless young adults. Not even the majority of the campus participated in the Catalina Wine Mixer, yet the whole campus was punished for the actions of a few students.

That action, with disregard for those who used the day wisely, is most definitely paternalistic.