College not the last step to freedom

"When do I get to make my own decisions?" This was the question posed to me by my daughter six months into her freshman year at IU.\n"When you can support yourself," I told her.\nIf the University took this attitude, maybe we could avoid adult-rated movies being filmed in our students' dorms. It's safe to assume this was being done without University officials' knowledge. But the environment that has been created by the University has opened the door to this type of activity. University officials are looking into the matter. So what? What are they going to do about it? How could there even be any recourse against the perpetrators? Student involvement would have been consensual, and since their consent is the only requirement for just about anything, what possible action could be taken against them?\nAt freshman orientation it became increasingly obvious that while parents were welcome to pay the ever-increasing fees for their sons and daughters to attend IU, their financial contributions in no way gave them right of access to student information like grades, which are only available with permission from the student.\nWhen my daughter signed all her papers and gave the University "permission" to give us information, she was registered and off to college.\nWe moved her into a co-ed dorm with single sex wings. There aren't many choices available for parents that want their student to live in a single sex dorm. \nSeveral weeks later I discovered that during the initial hall meeting, the girls took a vote and agreed upon "Open Visitation." So much for the single-sex dorm. It's no wonder scantily-clad girls parading down a male hallway didn't raise a red flag.\nCollege is the next step in a complete education. College is not the last step to freedom. Financial independence is the final step to freedom. The University's attitude of "no-input" from the financially responsible party (usually the parents) creates an environment where the student becomes the boss without the responsibility.\nPlease, let's make college all about education and not all about the student.