Having been born in 1995, I am just barely considered to be Generation Y. Generation X, born between 1975 and 1995, are those known as "Millennials." The older generations consider us to be privileged. We've grown up in the age of technology, which has been beneficial in many ways, but it has also been a bit detrimental. We live in a time where news can spread across the nation faster than wildfire. Something major can happen on the West coast at one time and be reported on the news on the East coast within hours. We've seen a lot in our lives - shootings, explosions, robberies, murders, riots, fires, floods, tsunamis, devastating hurricanes, and other horrific events. That's not to say those things didn't happen when our parents and grandparents were young, because they did.
Either way, my point is this: we live in a paradox. The main example I have of this would be the several times I have been having casual conversations with friends in classrooms prior to class that turned into expressing our concerns about other professors. Issues that us college kids have with our professors most commonly are issues with the professors not being understanding of family problems or outside commitments, inconsistent grading policies, and deviating from previous statements or the syllabus with little or even no notice. It seems that no matter how eloquently we put it, the tone we use, or how many people agree with us, our other professors have the same answers, which tend to be along the lines of: "You're just spoiled brats; your teachers do not owe you anything; you are just making up excuses," etc.
However, if we simply let these problems go and do not say anything, we are the ones who suffer. Once, a professor of mine did some very questionable things, such as giving a student a 9 out of 10 simply because "there had to be some mistake that [she] couldn't find" and having me sit on a stool in front of the class and listen to the other student critique my essay. Just me; she didn't make anyone else do it and I did not volunteer. As a result, most of the class and I had meetings with the department chair, but after speaking with some friends who are just now taking her class, nothing has changed.
OK I'll really get to my point now. As young adults, we can't oppose older adults without being accused of being "spoiled" or "disrespectful."
Are we really asking for that much?
Do we really deserve to be subjected to stereotypes? Calling us spoiled, disrespectful brats would be like calling the Baby Boomers harlots.
So, what did we do to deserve this, and how do we overcome it?
