Cry closets up on college campus

VanceMack said:

Hiya. No disrespect taken. I get what you mean. I would say the same thing applies to pretty much any job or profession. At the end of the day...we are talking about COLLEGE students. I would accept and expect this behavior from maybe Jr High kids. But come on...we are talking about adults.

To me...just to me...it is just another indicator of the wussification of a nation. A hundred years ago, 15-16 year old men and women were getting married, starting families, carving homes out of the wilderness. Today...we have raised the level of adult expectation to 26, and some are suggesting it should be higher...30-35. We have more people than ever on disability or living on medications. YOUNG people with otherwise fully functioning and capable bodies...but lacking the emotional capacity and will to face the day without chemical crutches. And this isn’t a judgement though I know it sounds harsh. It’s the hand modern society is dealing them. I think it’s a ****ty hand.


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I agree with you, man...it is a ****ty hand that society is dealing us - not just young people, but pretty much every generation since the "boomers". The world is changing in a hurry, and the stress of that is showing up in our mental health statistics. I think there are a lot of drivers for why people are struggling more today than they did a hundred years ago, with these struggles taking place outside of what has traditionally constituted the human struggle - I mean, look at how much has changed since people were building their own houses with their own hands and hunting and killing their own food.

But let me say this: I would do almost anything not to have this. I can't imagine that it's any different than anyone else who wrestles with the same. It's not a crutch, there is nothing preferable about not having total control over one's mind and body (because it impacts physical response systems as well - even if I have my mind right, I still get the physical symptoms of anxiety), and I never get a true break, it's with me all the time. I would rather not need meds or have to do the mind tricks I have to play with myself in order to do what others do with a "normal" amount of effort. I would rather not have times where it's a struggle to be around the people I love the most, simply because the anxiety symptoms are making it impossible to be around anybody. I've missed so much because of this. If there was any way to beat this, if there was some way to simply pull myself up by the bootstraps and "man up", it would have been done years ago. Don't ever think that these "crutches" come without a cost.

What would be nice is if society acknowledged the hardships associated with this kind of thing, in the same way they do for people that struggle with strictly physical ailments. No one gets called a ***** for using a wheelchair ramp or the "handicapped bathroom"...no one gets upset with folks for taking a day to stay home because of the flu, no one laments that society is failing when someone has to stay home to recover from surgery or injury. Not so that we can wallow in our suffering, and use it as some kind of cop out, but rather so that we can take care of the symptoms and get on with our lives as quickly as possible, without feeling worse for doing so.

OlNate said:

And your "Celebrating weakness" comment? Do you really think that's what it is? *sigh*... I mean, I think your intentions are good, but you are really pushing some harmful ****.

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It sometimes amazes me that people often don't take the time to think a situation through. Here's what you're missing in my opinion. A Cry Closet (if a real one existed) would serve to label a student, and we both know that labels are used to demean and discriminate.

These students aren't going to college in a perfect world where other students are always kind and empathetic. As I said before, I agree that everyone needs a little time now and again to gather themselves, but they shouldn't be made a spectacle of when they need to do so. Going into a "cry closet" would paint a big red "X" on the student's forehead. There's no earthly reason for doing that when the student can slip off to a restroom, a library, or even a stairwell for a few minutes.

You say I'm "pushing harmful ****" but, in reality, sticking a cry closet in a commons library, and then expecting the students who frequent it not to be teased, does nothing more than set them up to be the brunt of jokes. Why make any student a victim of ridicule if you can help them avoid that?

Again, the art student who built the closet did so to emphasize the stress of Final's week, not to provide a real place for students to cry or otherwise get themselves together. It's not a thing, and, hopefully, it will never be a thing.

Helix said:

No, I wasn't at risk of a heart attack. Just nervous stomach due to stress.

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While perhaps a little bit over the line irl, it would be a good sitcom prank.

Kids crying about tests should automatically be kicked out of school...