Comments for Two, Three, Many Charlotte Simmonses at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 18 out of 18 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Wed, 22 May 2013 10:10:52 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-4230 I became a church-going Catholic again during my year as an exchange student in a US college (I'm French). This may have been the result of the utter disgust I felt witnessing the moral state of US colleges. I used to fantazise about the National Guard invading the campus on Friday and Saturday nights and rounding up all students guilty of drug abuse, underage drinking and statutory rape. Campus would have been a pretty peaceful place afterwards. - Thibaud Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:14:41 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2345 Some of the very best (non-Catholic) parents I know have fallen into the trap of accepting the inevitability of dangerous immorality during the college years. This is a subject that deserves much more attention than it is getting. - Tom Borek Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:07:33 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2340 Two points of full agreement. A) it starts at home, and B) extremely disriminating choice in selecting a school. I would add C), train your children to understand the fundamental importance of seeking out and attracting good, high-quality individuals as friends, and themselves being good companions. This starts when they are 8, not 18. Along w/ a healthy dose of the Theo. of the Body, a strong group of good (morally good) friends is the ark in which one might weather the storm. - adam Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:48:21 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2336 I went to Holy Cross and didn't see any problems. My brother went to a very Jesuit college and the priest even brought the beer to the baseball games for everyone. My brother didn't see a problem with that, either! I won't say the name of the school so as not to ruin it for anyone. - BillyG Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:51:01 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2335 I taught at a Catholic High School for 4 years. Many of my students fit perfectly into this story. It is amazing to me how many former priests teach in colleges and facilitate the justification of hedonism. - francis Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:23:43 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2332 I think our schools should focus first on the drinking problem (where Catholics schools seem worse than average). This IS a manageable problem, but it takes work (not just a pledge or information session). Eg, at Davidson (which does almost everything right), the freshman are kept apart socially from the upperclassmen for 3-4 weeks, so they can establish their own social networks before relying on the older students. - Tom in NC Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:30:48 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2331 The answer likely lies with the colleges we help our children choose. We must turn our back, even to our financial detriment, on the Ivy League (I went to Yale), Georgetown, Notre Dame and the rest and focus on Christ-centered institutions such as Christendom, Steubenville and the others that advertise in places like First Things, Faith & Family, etc. Although I don't have personal knowledge of these places yet (my children are young), I hope they thrive and develop - with our help. - Mark Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:14:13 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2329 To my mind, Eberstadt at the end sounds nearly as complacent and unrealistic as the parents she criticizes. The Anscombe Society as a realistic solution? It has maybe 50 members, at one university. You've got to be kidding me. Why no mention of the time-honored American solution of consumer choice? As if we must send our children to such places. Here's a rewrite of Wolfe's novel: in ch. 1 Charlotte is told about the Anscombe Society at her university. The story ends the same way. - Pangloss Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:11:55 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2327 No question that foundations are laid at home. However, a bad structure can be built on a solid foundation, eventually ruining the foundation. My son went off to a Catholic college, where the Jesuit president told the parents "Your job is done. We'll take care of it from here." Well, they certainly took care of it alright; kid hasn't seen a church since. - Sean Smith Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:09:51 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2328 Thank you for the compliment. My children all turned out very well. I will with my wife,indeed, take some responsibility for where it REALLY belongs They are all practicing Catholics and my daughter is married and I have a grandchild. My friend, sexual promiscuity and drinking is so pervasive on college campuses that the student on his own for the first time easily succumbs to peer pressure. To postulate that the current behaviour on campuses is a result of parental failure is a leap of logic - Willie Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:43:31 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2326 "But the facts whistle past our euphemisms." My good friend, Garnet Pike, when he was also my pastor, would sometimes interrupt a sermon in which he thought he had made a salient point without sufficient "amens" from us to exclaim, "That's good preachin', PIke!" I'll paraphrase him here: that's good writing, Eberstadt!! - Bill Daugherty Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:47:26 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2325 Perhaps at colleges and universities like Holy Cross and Georgetown, Newman Centers could be established. Just a thought. In the meantime, a donation is being sent to Princeton's Newman Center. Thanks for the heads up. Elizabeth - Elizabeth Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:46:20 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2324 Nice play on words in paragraph 2 but the word is "inter" not "intern". So I think 'Interment" should replace "Internment"....being picky, quite picky, and non-substantive. - Becky Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:45:55 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2323 Mary, You are a master. This is a great column and as I ponder the future of Lucy and Gigi (classes of 2027 and 2030) i shudder. There is a choir of evil surely circling around them waiting to pounce. Yikes. How did i get into this?! I guess that's what you get for cooperating with His will! Yikes indeed. Best, Austin - Austin Ruse Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:45:03 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2322 John hit the nail right on the head - how they're going to act in college is decided way before they show up at the dorm. So parents should take responsibility for their own kids and stop trying to blame someone else. Willie, you're a perfect example of a parent blaming everyone except the person REALLY responsible. - BillyG Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:44:25 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2321 I have the Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas to thank for teaching me the truth durring difficult (and dangerous) times. Thousands of others have been so helped. These organizations deserve whatever support we can provide! - Grateful Student Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:57:51 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2320 Mary Eberstadt is addressing here a huge issue that deserves in depth discussion. As the father of four recent collegians (two at Catholic schools; two at state universities) I am certain that for us, the problem began long before college..We failed to engage them in their teen years so that the game was lost (hopefully not forever) long before they went to college... - John McCarthy Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:45:46 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/two-three-many-charlotte-simmonses.html#comment-2319 After sending three kids to college, both Catholic and secular, this article rings with familiarity. Is it any wonder that 50% of students on college campuses have sexually transmitted disease. To think that one pays for four years of sex and booze ad lib, and to learn that there is no such thing as truth! And ,Quite a price to find out there is no reality.. To me this reflects the nihilsm of postmodern academia and the job oriented curricula of most colleges. In the future what results? Look! - Willie Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:29:30 +0100