You Can't Save Them All

One of the not-so-funny numerous moments from the FEMA public information officer training was the title of this entry. It was the answer given by a flustered PIO in a mock disaster interview. When asked about those people over there who were injured and killed, the PIO shrugged and said, "You can't save them all." Oops.

Why is that in the SNW/SID blog? Learned the other day about one of our former athletes who hasn't exactly had a positive time since she departed UA. Two DUIs among other things. One of the flags here of this future behavior was her Facebook, a classic college party log with the usual entries and images. It wasn't the only indicator she needed some guidance, and it didn't lead to her transfer.

The update on her life reminded me of a few other persons whose dramatic SNW entries were precursors of serious issues or departure from college. More than a few universities legal departments are advising that if the school monitors SNW, they are opening themselves up to tremendous liability for A) spying -- ok, that's not the legalese they'd use; or B) liability for not taking action in each and every case.

As a result, many are now taking an enlightened blind eye toward SNW. They're adults. It's their life. They deserve privacy. When did the college abdicate responsibility for assisting with the mentoring/parenting/raising of our youth? Probably about the same time the high schools stopped.

Before the clucking starts, would you turn a blind eye toward a friend's destructive behavior? Would you ignore your own child's issues? Well, maybe if you were doing drugs with your kids -- but that's another story.

In the end, you really can't save them all. But you can try.