The day in Williamstown looks gorgeous. Happy Mountain Day to all indeed! 
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@purplemama I havenāt heard a thing about roofies? (Which I always thought was spelled rufies, lol).
Sorry, I posted before I read through the thread. Up to date now!
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I wonder if the roofies (sp?) issue is specific to certain schools or if itās a trend. I was on reddit, researching Smith college because one of the students I was helping had expressed interest. Coinciding with some of the updates in this group, I saw this interesting post from a senior at UMass giving Smith students a heads up that if they are going to parties at UMass that they were having issues with two frats on campus for gross sexual assault. The senior warned the group to avoid certain fraternities for their own safety. I thought it was actually a nice gesture to warn others, but this is so unfortunate that the cycle never ends and it seems like theirs a wave with every new class. :(.
As I mentioned before, I feel like most of these things are 10% truth and 90% rumor mill. Have girls had their drinks spiked before? Absolutely. This is unfortunately nothing new and students need to be careful and look out for each other. But rumors spread like wildfire these days with very little corroboration, so I think it is good to be vigilant but to read everything skeptically. An anonymous post on Reddit about a rumor about certain fraternities or certain campuses then gets disseminated through College Confidential. If it isnāt a campus that you have a personal connection to I would be careful about spreading it.
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Yes. And no college is immune to sexual assault and other crimes (no matter how high the USNWR ranking). Anyone sending their kid off to college thinking itās a 100% safe, contained, Disney-like environment, is sadly mistaken.
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Just read this follow up and since I posted the earlier concern, here is where they landed:
Whether these sorts of things are rumors or not, in no way would I minimize the experience that someone may have potentially had.
On a lighter note, 18 days til Family Weekend at Amherst & Williams and boy do I appreciate they made it the same weekend! 
Hope you are all enjoying the Fall wherever you are 
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A suggestion-- have your student send you photos of their driverās license, school ID, etc. Make sure they have passwords accessible somewhere other than their phone. And perhaps have a backup payment method that isnāt carried with them. These things were valuable when my daughterās phone, IDs, credit card, etc. were stolen last weekend (and some were learned the hard way). We are still trying to figure out how to replace the driverās license (she is 1200 miles away and the online replacement function isnāt working) Ugh.
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Midterm week for S. He has a fall break next week, but not coming home.
How are all your students doing?
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I think itās midterms for my D too. I only know because I saw other parents mention them on the FB page. So far Iāve stayed out of her way in regards to academics. Iām enjoying not being curious or worrying about it. I donāt really feel the need to know anymore. I guess thatās because she did so well in high school on her own. I have no reason to believe she doesnāt have the tools to do well, or seek help if she needs it. She has repeatedly told me how much she enjoys her classes and her teachers.
This weekend is family weekend and I canāt wait visit with her and meet some of her new friends. I feel like time is just flying by and that her freshman year is moving at warp speed!
Sheās having so much fun. I feel like sheās making up for lost time since in high school she really grinded with a demanding sport, a job, and then taking her academics so seriously. Now that there is not a sport to fit in she has such a nice balance between her studies and her social life. Overall things right now are really good!
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My D had midterms this week as well. Her school doesnāt do a fall break (not sure if thatās a CC thing to skip), so no break. Sheās decided to audition for two colleges for next year and see where she stands- she could transfer next year or the year after. Her company had their first two performances of the season in the past week, and I was able to see both. They were lovely, and in the second, a community outreach show, she had a solo. The trainees are responsible for the community outreach shows, and I just enjoy the ability to see her sometimes without the steep ticket fee. The professional show Saturday night cost $60 a ticket- it was amazing and so worth it, but Iāll take cheap/free when I can get it. Ha. She will be registering for spring next week. She quit one of her (3) jobs last week. It was on campus and no one (like NO ONE) would follow the mask mandate. It got to the point where her coworkers were mocking her for trying to enforce it, and thatās when sheād had enough.
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D21 came home for a long weekend last week. Since she was taking her car back I think the trip home was really just to get the car. She seems to be doing well. Making good grades so far. She just got a job this week for 15 hours a week so we will see how that goes with her classes. Apparently the food is not very good at Miami of Ohio and long lines as they donāt have enough workers to have all the cafeterias open.
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My S has the same complaint about the dining halls, long lines as they donāt have enough workers.
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Midterms for my son at Texas Tech. I sent him a small charcuterie box delivery on monday through this lady that has a business in Lubbock. He said it was really good and shared with 3 friends lol. Apparently Iām now known as the āFood Momā because Iāve sent them Insomnia Cookies before and they saw him
come back from a visit home loaded down with food I made for his dorm fridge/freezer 
Heās doing well, getting ready to start registering for Spring classes in a few weeksā¦then home for Thanksgiving.
Itās strange a strange feeling not being involved in his day to day lifeā¦his grades, test schedules etc. Thank God I still have the twins at home 
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There have been lots of complaints about this as well at Texas Tech. It seems almost daily there is a post with parents saying their kids are complaining about the food situation. My son hasnāt had any issues. His dorm is attached to one of the better dining facilities/food halls and heās on the first floor so itās literally right outside his hallway. His friends all come there to eat as well.
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Food issues at dās school as well. Not all the dining halls are open. Long lines elsewhere. Places closing earlier than announced. Definitely hearing this issue is widespread. Frustrating to be paying so much for a meal plan and not getting the food.
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Same food problems and long lines. My son is only eating two meals a day and has lost 25 pounds. Other freshman parents say their sons have lost weight. Sadly, FB group indicates that a past problems with the supplier and when parents went to the mat on this issue, no lasting changes ensued. It was in the school newspaper but I donāt think the two younger class kids are likely to pursue change with admin.
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Other than the food, my S is doing well. He has met a lot of people and is on a fun dorm floor. He joined several things and is getting good grades. Is trying out for crew. He seemed very intimidated at first but seems to be more relaxed each week that I talk to him. Heās looking forward to coming home for the holidays but doesnāt seem homesick. Roommate seems like a bit of a stresser type who is in the room a lot but they get along well. All in all, it seems like a pretty good fit.
Remains to be seen how he likes it during the long, cold winter as he has been outside a lot. Still not sure it was the best choice for his major and Iām a little nervous about class choices / advising. I think heās unlikely to want to apply to transfer to one or more of the places where he was waitlisted or have the required courses necessary to do so.
Does anyone know a student who did the 3-2 engineering program coming from a liberal arts college? I just found out this was a thing.
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I am worried about S and the winter also. I really donāt want him spending all his time indoors, I hope he finds an outdoor winter activity he enjoys.
Wow, 25lbs is a lot. S only eats two meals a day at the dining halls, but he gets lots of opportunities for free food during football weekends. I also send him grocery delivery so he can make smoothies and have stuff to snack on in the dorm. I hate having to spend extra money on groceries, but he was going hungry.
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It is a lot. Iāve been encouraging him to eat out at the local restaurants more often. He does go to the grocery store and buys like protein shakes and some back up food.