The questions you ask reveal volumes about you...

So we had "Tell It Like It Is" in class the other day, where recent graduates come back to share their college experiences with current seniors. Not a bad idea. The recent grads actually had some good things to say - they focused on the self-reliance necessary in college, they highlighted the need to attend class and study, they emphasized the idea that students pay for college, and cutting class is essentially wasting your own money.

But the questions some of my current students ask...WTH. Here's a sampling of the topics:
1) What happens if you get into a fight
2) What happens if people in the dorm hear your, shall we say, "physical activity"
3) Whether a teacher can take away your cell phone
4) What happens if you get in trouble with law enforcement
5) What happens if you cuss on campus
6) What sort of dorm space is available for a married couple with a child
7) What happens if you cheat on a test
8) How someone can possibly think of enough ideas to write a 10-page paper
9) Whether or not the school provides you a big screen TV in your dorm room
10) How many parties a week a typical student could attend

Gee, what's the message here? "I have no intention of actually getting educated. I'm going to college for the social experience, I only care about sex, my phone, and my TV, and I'm mainly interested in how much I can 'get away with.' I'm an idiot who's going to waste gigantic amounts of money to drink and screw, and I have no interest in graduating."

I actually had to step into the conversation at one point and say, "Look. You're going to college to get an education. There are social aspects, but those are necessary to release tension from all the studying and all the work. If you're actually a serious student, you DON'T HAVE TIME to get in trouble. You have time to take care of what you're paying thousands of dollars to do."

Imagine being a hiring manager and a prospective candidate is interviewing with you. They ask you, "So what would happen if my girlfriend and are too loud in the broom closet? Also, what if I freak out and start punching a co-worker? Is that 'frowned upon?'"

Apparently, George Costanza is all too real.