Finishing that last darn paper for the semester

Once I'm done with this I'm hoping to write for pleasure again, although this originally should have been a "write for pleasure" type paper.

I am totally revamping this the day before it is due. Of course. Why would I make it easy on myself and just cosmetically edit? I thought by sharing some I could help hash out some thoughts. For a little background, the paper is about the challenges of being both a teacher/administrator to a group of students and performing research "on" them. I put "on" in quotes because my view of the ethnography I do is that I am doing research "with" them but that's another post.

From a historical view, the traditional role of the college as functioning in loco parentis plays a factor in addressing the conflict between teacher and researcher on campus. While the role of the elementary and secondary school to protect the children enrolled there during the day is clear, the role of colleges in protecting their majority students is less well-defined. In colonial America colleges did not see students as adults, and took a role in governing their behavior while on campus (Bowden, Randall. "Evolution of Responsibility: From in Loco Parentis to Ad Meliora Vertamur." Education 127, no. 4 (2007). Until the 1970s, most students on college campuses were legally considered minors. In 1971 the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18 from 21, and many states lowered the age of majority to 18 as well. The doctrine of in loco parentis has transformed from one of pastoral care of students through rules and regulation to a contractual agreement.
How care for students plays out at various campuses varies as well according to tradition and culture. At my undergraduate institution, Sewanee, we had a rich history of care of students body, mind and soul. The school is owned by Southern Episcopal dioceses, and the care for students stems mostly from this religious foundation. The tradition extends to many on campus. When I missed too many French classes, due to what I thought at the time was being "sick" but was actually a nervous breakdown because of my parents divorce, my French teacher called me to tell me I had to come to class. Most of my professors took attendance; if you were absent, they noticed.
The care extended beyond punitive measures. Many senior seminars took place in professors' homes. They often provided snacks and beverages during a break in the sessions. The dress tradition I have already mentioned intends to aid students to take their studies seriously and teach them to dress for their future. Freshmen at Sewanee are grouped into "AP Groups" and have an Assistant Proctor, usually a junior student, to guide them in activities and provide advice throughout their first year at college. Most of the dorms are staffed by a matron, women who were traditionally widows of Episcopal priests who came and spent the rest of their days serving as a dorm mother to students. Most Sewanee students also lived in single-sex dorms, and members of the opposite sex were not permitted in dorms after midnight, even in common areas. From clothing to sexual activity, Sewanee was involved in most aspects of students' lives.

That's good, right? I hope? I hope it doesn't sound too negative - I love the in loco parentis of Sewanee. I'm shocked at how little care the school where I currently work seems to have for students. The fact that I am one of the people who cares for them most and I'm so little involved in their lives - well, to me, it just seems sad. I could never invite students to my house without raising more than a few eyebrows. I really miss the community of learning I had at Sewanee. I felt so well cared for there.