Apathy terminates Parent’s Day

editorial cartoon by Kevin Johnstone
editorial cartoon by Kevin Johnstone

Wow! A whole day devoted to parents. A day when students can invite their parents to see where their beloved children go to school, grow and learn many of life’s lessons. Parents would get to meet professors, see the new library and parents of seniors would get pertinent information about graduation. For many parents, the only time they see the campus is on orientation weekend, when students start school, and then four years later when they come back for commencement weekend and leave the University of La Verne behind. What a good idea. Well, it would have been a good idea, but because of lack of interest, the whole event was cancelled.

On Saturday, March 2, the inaugural Parent’s Day was supposed to take place but only about 20 parents sent in the reservation cards, leaving the office of Student Life no other choice but to cancel it. There are nearly 1,000 undergraduate students attending this college, yet only 20 of their parents responded.

“Before the deadline, I had received less than 10 responses,” said Ruby Montaño-Cordova, assistant dean of student life and organizer of the event, about why she cancelled the day.

Parent’s Day was meant to be a time for parents to learn more about the University where they are sending their children and, in most cases, their money. A day of activities was planned for the parents, starting with a welcome by President Stephen Morgan. Next on the schedule was a presentation of the University’s history, followed by a tour of the new Wilson Library and Landis Academic Center. Mini-class sessions and a meeting with the deans of the University were to follow, so that parents would be able to get a taste of life in and out of the classroom. Lunch from Davenport Dining Hall was also included, so parents could experience the same cafeteria food students eat on a daily basis, followed by a graduation fair intended to prepare seniors for a “successful commencement weekend.”

Of all the scheduled activities, the only one that actually took place was the graduation fair. Some students have said the lack of publicity was at the root of the lackluster participation, but fliers were sent to parents a month prior, telling them about the event and when they needed to respond. Two days before the event was supposed to take place, parents received a postcard saying that Parent’s Day had been cancelled due to the lack of interest and participation.

It is no wonder why students do not show up for many campus events. They have learned from their parents to be apathetic and uninvolved. Anytime there is an event at which the entire student body is invited, there are only a handful of students who come to participate. Students pay a lot of money to come to school here, so why would they not want their parents to come and see what their money is paying for? Why do students not care that their money is being used for events that no one attends?

The simple fact of the matter is that nobody cares. Students are not the only ones to blame for the abrupt cancellation of Parent’s Day, because parents of all undergraduate students were informed by mail well beforehand. But on the other hand, students should take responsibility just the same for ensuring that their parents knew about the day meant for them. Neither of these things happened, obviously, because of the pathetic lack of response which led to the sudden axing of the whole day.

Maybe if the students and parents of La Verne cared more about what was happening on this campus, they would show up for events and not continue to be apathetic.

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