AP: why colleges are calling on generation x for help

According to an article by Eric Gorsky in the Associated Press, colleges are enlisting the help of Generation X parents to curb problem drinking. Gorsky interviewed Edward Spencer, the VP of Student Affairs at Virginia Tech, and his comments shed favorable light on Gen Xers. Here is an excerpt:

Parents of Generation X students were often eluctant to get involved when the school invoked an emergency clause in privacy laws and alerted them of alcohol problems, he said.


The response would be, "You know, I'm leaving on a cruise. I'm going to a class reunion."

But today, parents of millennials tend to be tethered by cell phone to children who studies show often idolize their parents — so it makes sense to go a step further in parental involvement, he said.

I wish I knew which studies Spencer cites, but this is not the first time I've heard references to Gen Y and Gen Z idolizing Generation X. Nothing we ever expected, I'm sure of that.