Frustration

I'm feeling pretty frustrated today. My older dd was nearly written up at college Friday because I was later than 2 getting there to pick her up. Now I'll admit, I should have checked the student handbook to see what time she was supposed to be off campus. But today I did check it, and it doesn't say. It does say that she is supposed to be out of the dorm by 2. But it doesn't say what time they're to be off campus. Personally, I think 2 is awfully early for even being out of the dorm. What about students who do not have their own transportation? What about those whose parents both work, and they can't come pick up the student until they get off work at 5? They could be as late as 6 or 6:30 getting there. We're lucky in that I don't work outside the home and can aim at getting there whenever I need to be there. But I still have no control over traffic problems. There was one Friday when it took me an hour and a half longer than it should have for me to get there, because there were 2 accidents on I-55. One was a 10 car pile-up. The other only involved 2 or 3 cars. But both accidents had traffic backed up horribly. So instead of getting there about 3:30, it was 5:00 before I got there.

Anyway, it doesn't make sense to me that they would make the students be off campus by 2:00. But yet when my daughter was sitting outside her dormitory, and a friend waiting with her, because she didn't want to wait alone, the dorm mother called campus security (without saying one word to them), and she nearly got written up. And she thinks her friend may have been written up. I hope not, since he was just trying to help her feel safer.

I plan to be there before 2 from now on, so she doesn't have to go through this again. But I think it's ridiculous. I may even aim at being there by noon, so that if there are accidents on the interstate to slow me down, maybe I can still make it by 2. But I think it's totally ridiculous that we should have to go to that extreme just to keep her from being written up, or having to sit and wait alone on a nearly deserted campus. And she was not the only other girl still there; in fact, the other girl was inside the dormitory getting her stuff so she could leave. She had a friend waiting outside for her too, and my dd thinks he may have been written up as well.

Personally, I think they should give the students until 6:00 before writing them up, and even then make exceptions for those without their own transportation. But then I'm a parent, not a member of administration who cares more about getting home early on Friday afternoon, than I do about the safety of the students. It's almost funny. Almost all other daytime jobs/carreers require the employee working until 5 or later. But not HCC. They get off a half day early on Friday, and make rules and regulations that put the parents and students in a position of having to choose between breaking college rules or leaving work early and risking losing their job. I don't work outside the home, but I'm the exception to the rule. And what's worse, is if the student is written up too many times, they're not allowed to live on campus, and could even be kicked out of school altogether. I'm starting to have second thoughts about sending her to HCC. Maybe we should have chosen a college closer to home, or one without so many ridiculous rules and regulations making things difficult.