A Message for Our Readers

Diane Schwemm

Dear Readers,

CollegiateParent doesn't ordinarily publish editorials. Instead, day in and day out, we trust that our content serves as a statement of our core values: a commitment to collecting and sharing parental wisdom and a deep belief in the power of higher education to enrich and improve lives.

But in this time of national grief for George Floyd and other Black victims of police and vigilante violence, and the massive protests calling for reform within law enforcement and throughout American society, we recognize clearly that non-engagement with the burning issue of systemic racism would equal a refusal to examine our own biases and blind spots.

Because we are in the business of supporting parents and families in all times and circumstances, and lifting up their health, happiness and success, now is the moment to rededicate ourselves with a new passion and energy to this work.

We express solidarity with those pursuing justice and working to foster safe and healthy lives and communities. Together with our own community of readers and fellow parents, we stand against racism and for concerted efforts to learn, listen, connect and act.

We will continue to seek innovative ways to support families of all kinds and to work with our partner schools as they, too, support students and families — with particular attention to those historically excluded from the opportunity and promise of higher education.

We vow to diversify the voices and topics we feature on our website and in our publications, and be intentional in welcoming your questions and suggestions.

We acknowledge that — even as we speak with the authority of long experience in the area of college parenting, and feel confident that we provide our readers with well-founded information and advice — we do not know everything. Far from it! We, too, are students.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly. In the midst of what feels like a very dark time, we celebrate the opportunity to learn from the very best teachers of all: our own children who — as they grow from gangly, uncertain teens into adults (still sometimes uncertain, as we all are!) — keep their clear young eyes on a bright horizon and, still holding our hands, draw us with them into the future.