Crybabies

Many students have children. These students have been very vocal in requesting a university-supported child care facility. Therefore, the university should have a child care facility to take care of these children while the parents are in classes. How a carefully considered opinion could support this is beyond me.

A couple winds up with a child in one of two ways. Either the pregnancy was an accident or it was planned.

If the child was an accident, the parents and the child are victims of the parents' gross stupidity. They ignored all of the efforts aimed at helping them avoid pregnancy. The university sells contraceptives in Wilt Chamberlain-size quantities for almost nothing. At one point last semester, the university was giving away free condoms. There is no excuse for not having and using contraception.

If the students meant to have children, then it is incredible that they would expect someone else to take responsibility for their own decision. It is unfortunate that some elements in our society support this victim mentality, but that is no reason to begin dependence here.

I'll take this opportunity to apologize to those student parents who are responsible enough to take of their children, and don't ask for the university's help in doing so. Good luck.

It doesn't stop there. As stupidity always seems to in America, this issue has been expanded to include civil rights issues.

Some students have gone as far as to say they are being discriminated against, that the lack of child care facilities prevents them from being equal with other students. They are absolutely correct: they are being discriminated against. Everything discriminates against the stupid, and some people just have to get used to it.

However, we can't blame them for wanting to get out of the terrible responsibility that they're mired in. The parents who have gotten themselves into this situation are in trouble. They've screwed up. Now, they want someone else to blame for their troubles, their responsibility. This is natural. They want someone to take care of them. This is natural. But we will not take care of them anymore. They lost the right to have someone else take care of them when, through choice or gross stupidity, they decided to have a child.

All of these issues are extraneous. We can never address every objection and point that will be raised. Instead, we can focus on the underlying argument.

To what extent should we subsidize stupidity? What forms of stupidity are eligible to get more of our money? Do students who fail all of their classes deserve grants? After all, we don't want them dropping out entirely. Is it their fault that they get drunk every night? Isn't it partly our responsibility? What about bad professors? Shall we pay them more? Isn't it our fault for forcing unrealistic expectations on them?

At this point, some readers will object. Unfortunately, this isn't going too far. These people have taken on more responsibility than they can handle. If it was an accident, then they have proven they cannot be relied upon for the most important of decisions. If they intended a child, then the responsibility lies even more squarely on their shoulders. This is a harsh way of looking at things, but reality often is harsh.

Of course, there are some who think we should give money, child care, and whatnot to these unfortunates. It is easy to sympathize with them, to feel their pain. After all, we can all see how negligence or stupidity could get us into the same situation. But that negligence is what separates us from them. They have their responsibility, and it is a heavy one. But ours is heavy, too. We must not give in to what feels good to do.

What happens if we take their responsibility from them, if we say: "You can't be held accountable for what you've done. We know you won't do it again, so we'll take care of everything." Once we say that, everything these people do becomes our responsibility. We'll be taking care of them for the rest of our lives. Moreover, what kind of message does this send to the parents? That someone will always be there to take care of them? But there's one thing that's even more important: what kind of message are we sending to the children that they are raising?

Dan Cassino is a political science sophomore. His commentary appears every Thursday. He can be reached at Dan.Cassino@wildcat.arizona.edu.