Stacey Christiansen’s column regarding the “wimpy” parenting of the upcoming generation (printed on Oct. 8) is pathetic at best. Her criticism that we need to return to “the good old-fashioned ‘wait until your father gets home’ punishment” is ignorant. It ignores the fact that many children don’t have fathers. It ignores the fact that good parenting has little to do with punishing.

She writes that “children do have rights.” I pose the question: What rights do children have? I agree that children should have rights but I have spent the last two years researching a thesis that clearly demonstrates that minors have no rights. It might interest you to know that Loyola’s Law School founded a Juvenile Justice program in 1993 and that this is currently the only program of its kind in the United States.

The children who desperately need representation are not the ones who don’t want to do their homework. The kids who need our help are the over 1.5 million that are forced to flee their homes yearly to live on our street corners as prostitutes, drug dealers, dumpster divers, pimps, thieves, etc. These children have been abandoned by their parents, society and our legal system.

I agree, Ms. Christiansen, “the future is in big trouble,” but it is because of the ignorant opinions of the privileged class.

Hillary Finne

Communications

Graduate Student