This year, during University President Lawrence Bacow's matriculation speech, tears of anxiety streamed down the cheeks of several parents on the Hill. "Please be kind," Bacow advised the Class of 2009. "Talk to your parents."
Hugs were exchanged and students rushed off to begin a new year of freedom and independence. Though saddened by the inevitable release of their children, the majority of parents parted and returned home, awaiting their child's call.
For the most part, Tufts parents trust their children's readiness to attend college.
Sophomore Sam Adelman's father, for example, believed his son "was ready to live alone his freshman year."
"As Sam told us," his mother added, "'More than ready!'"
There have been various exceptions throughout the years, but nothing close to the problem of over-anxious parents that other schools increasingly face: "helicopter parenting."
Helicopter parents - parents who hover over their children's lives - have become a major concern for many universities. At the University of Vermont, for example, students are employed to work as "parent bouncers," diverting parents who try to attend registration. At Northeastern University, parents are specifically instructed to avoid calling their children, waiting until the students call home themselves.
According to Director of Tufts' Parents Program Jessica Papatolicas, though parent involvement has increased over the years at Tufts, the school does not encounter many "helicopter parents." She said she believes Tufts has stayed clear of the overprotective parent phenomena seen at other universities because of the school's size and the type of students that attend.
"I don't think that the problem [of "helicopter parents"] occurs so much on our campus," Papatolicas said. "Tufts attracts a very entrepreneurial, independent student body, and our students tend to proceed with registration, move-in day, living issues abroad and other procedures on their own."
Jean Herbert, Dean of First-Year students and transfers, agreed. "Our students are pretty mature and sophisticated," she said. "They're used to having independence."
But that's not to say that Tufts students haven't experienced instances of overprotective parenting. "I even saw some parents after move-in day going to activities with their kids," said junior Robert Kim, who aided students moving into Wren.
"There were parents who said 'I'm not leaving till 'X-Y-Z' are done for my child,'" said senior Frances Dixon, who worked with Residential Life to help students move into Metcalf.
While some parents complained about Internet setup, others were concerned with lack of air-conditioning during the summer heat. Students, however, were relatively complaint-free. "It wasn't the students who had problems," Dixon said. "It was the parents!"
Sophomore Kate Neptune's father agreed that "helicopter parenting" is more the fault of parents than students. "It's more about parental anxiety," he said.
According to CNN, the problem of "helicopter parents" may stem from generational differences. Since many Baby Boomers did not have a close bond with their parents, they try to compensate by forming an unprecedented tightness with their own children.
"This is a group of parents who have been more involved in their children's development since in utero than any generation in American history," Helen Johnson, author of the guide for college parents "Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money," told CNN.com.
Constant student-parent contact has further increased with the proliferation of cell phones. During sophomore Emily Cole's first year at Tufts, she said she sometimes found herself speaking to her parents on a daily basis. "I wasn't on the phone rather than meeting people," Cole said. "But it was nice to talk to my mom."
Freshman Indra Ong, on the other hand, said she doesn't feel the constant need to call home every time she is worried or stressed. "I've only called to check in, and that's probably what I'll do the rest of the year," Ong said. "I'm really independent so I don't really have to call my parents every day."
While Papatolicas agreed that cell phone usage increases contact between students and parents, she has encountered many parents who "self-monitor." Instead of calling to check in every day, parents restrict their calls to once a week. Papatolicas recommends that parents email their children instead of calling constantly to avoid problems of hectic schedules and time-zone differences.
Though Neptune's father was "a little nervous" when his daughter was a freshman, he applied the self-monitoring method and waited for her to call home. If he wanted to contact Kate, he followed Papatolicas' suggestion, believing e-mail to be less invasive than using a cell phone. He could not even fathom calling his daughter every day.
"That just seems crazy to me," he said. "If you're too protective, you give [students] reasons to doubt themselves."
To strengthen students' confidence, Tufts tries to allow enough freedom for self-discovery and maturation. When Herbert receives calls from concerned parents regarding their children's academic problems, she contacts the students directly.
That is not to say that parents should refrain from speaking with their children. "There are advantages to closer contact between parents and their students during the college years," said Papatolicas, listing benefits such as support for both parties during a transitional time.
"However, part of the college experience is learning to handle responsibilities and situations, not to mention time and resources on your own," she said. "And all students should have the opportunity and flexibility to do so."
