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Understanding the daily schedule of student life

By Dean of Students Greg Kneser
April 24, 2008

As the end of the academic year approaches and the time nears to send students home for the summer, I've been thinking about a message I wrote to parents several years ago. At the time, I was trying to prepare parents for the seemingly strange daily schedule their student would likely bring home with them. Since I wrote that letter, little has changed. In a few short weeks, I may be getting calls from parents saying, "Who is this person you sent home to us?"

GregKneser07Head
Kneser
If you are trying understand the student that returns to your home this summer, I would strongly advise you to simply sit back and watch and listen. As Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot by just watching."

Personally, one of the most important lessons I have learned by watching and listening is that their day is nothing like yours and mine, and this might present a challenge as they move home. One of the things we notice at St. Olaf is that as most of the staff and faculty start leaving campus at 5 p.m. or so, our students' day is just beginning. There is a complete second day that begins in the early evening and stretches until 1 a.m., 2 a.m. or even 3 a.m. This is a day that has a different rhythm than the first, different priorities and even has different people in charge. My staff members, who at times find themselves on campus at 2 a.m. or so, know that lights are on, people are walking about, and there is more activity than is generally found at 7:30 a.m.

This extra time in the day also alters what we might think of as the normal patterns of life. The staff of Bon Appetit, St. Olaf's food management company, taught us the concept of the "Fourth Meal" long before Taco Bell picked it up as a marketing slogan. This late night -- or early morning -- "snack" has enough calories for nutritionists to count it as a full meal.

It's easy to see what is going on in the schedules of our students, but what is less certain is whether it is good. We are not in the habit of enforcing bedtimes, but we do worry about sleep, healthy eating habits and the stress of roommates dealing with such schedules. I'm not offering a solution, but I am providing a warning to those of you who have not had your child back home in a while.

If you want to know more, I would suggest that you ask your daughter or son to track their daily schedule for a week and report back on what they discovered about themselves. Use it as an opportunity to take a peek into their routine, and offer feedback on their life away at college.

Pass along what you learn to us, because we are trying to figure it out as well.

Enjoy the time at home with your child, and send them safely back to us.

Peace,

Greg Kneser
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students

Contact Greg Kneser at 507-786-3503 or kneser@stolaf.edu.