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<p>All I see in the article was that he was missing for several days. That doesn’t sound like he blew off an entire semester. I’ve seen many classmates take off on trips for up to a week and yet, kept up with their assignments/readings so their semesters weren’t lost. </p>
<p>If one plans out one’s assignment/readings/study plans well enough, missing even a week or two won’t torpedo an entire given semester.</p>
<p>Obies routinely left the campus for some days in the '90s to take part in off-campus protests or to join short-term arts/musical projects without having those absences necessarily impact their academic performance. </p>
<p>As for not notifying his family…that’s not ok. </p>
<p>However, this underscores a great change in college expectations as back in the '90s…most college classmates checked in with their parents once every 2-3 weeks at most…not once every few days. </p>
<p>If he pulled off what he did during my college years, unless he stayed out of contact for a week or two…his family may not necessarily have even known he took some days off to participate in a protest.</p>
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<p>Inconsiderate with a touch of idiocy, possibly. However, he may not have been thinking…or maybe he was trying to prove to himself he can cope with embarking on a long adventuresome trip to a big unfamiliar city independently. </p>
<p>I can sympathize a bit with the latter as it is a common desire among the vast majority of young adults…especially young men.</p>