Of Hurricanes and Hovercraft Parents

As New Jersey gets attacked by the mother lode of all rain storms this week (oh hey, Tropical Depression Danielle!), the start of hurricane season prompts every good Princetonian to start his or her annual late-summer countdown till move-in.  (19 days, folks!) At this point, of course, all of our friends at normal schools have already moved in and are partying up a storm--erm, are studying hard, as usual. But hey, we're too cool to start classes in August.  And so we wait.And wait.And wait.For all you 2014ers out there, have no fear! With any luck, this interim period will be your most hellish Princeton experience by far.  In the meantime, here's a lovely article courtesy of today's New York Times about how schools are dealing with  over-protective parents as freshman flock to campus.At Princeton, parents are politely encouraged to vamoose by students-only events after 5:30pm on move-in day.  Dean Dunne, our Associate Dean of Undergraduates, weighs in: “It’s easy for students to point to [the students-only events] and say, ‘Hey, Mom, I think you’re supposed to be gone now.'  It’s obviously a hard conversation for students to have with parents.”Here's hoping your parents know how to let go come September 4th for all you OA and CA folks!  If need be, gently remind them that Parents' Day is a scant month away...at which point, their pocketbooks and the prospect of dinner off-campus will earn them quite the hearty welcome.