INSTILLING THE HABITS OF EFFECTIVE PEOPLE. The New York Times reports on a University of Cincinnati themed house for first-generation collegians.

The Gen-1 Theme House began its first year with 15 students, mostly minorities and all eligible for low-income Pell grants. Eight ultimately accepted the house’s academic focus and strict rules (no alcohol or overnight visitors, midnight curfew on weeknights and 3 a.m. on weekends). The other seven either found the rules too constricting and moved out, or were evicted for breaking them. This fall, 20 or so new freshmen are expected to enter the house, which is overseen by Dr. [Stephanie] Cappel’s [outreach] center.

If memory serves, Cincinnati got rid of its high-rise dormitories some years ago, recognizing that packing a lot of people in close proximity induces projects-like behavior even in people who grew up a long way from the projects. (There are some stories I can tell about tear-gassings and swimming pools in the communal shower at Wisconsin's vertical zoo.)

As with any home, some Gen-1 residents felt they got too much attention. “The staff mean well, but they’re on our backs too much, increasing the stress we already feel,” Ms. Abrefa says. “They expect us to be perfect in a way. But we’re going to make mistakes, and learn from them.”

Adds Amber Lofton, her roommate, “Sometimes it’s suffocating.”

Indeed, the students give up some freedom — including their right to make potentially poor decisions — in exchange for a better shot at academic success. (Students sign a contract, committing to all the house’s rules.) “We are very paternalistic,” says Bob Suess, the project director. “We are intentionally in their faces.”

First-generation students struggle for many reasons. They aren’t prepared, they don’t get help choosing a college that’s the right fit, their families often discourage them. Because they don’t understand college culture, they draw back rather than immerse themselves.

“The problems of the first year fall disproportionately on first generation and economically disadvantaged students,” says John N. Gardner, executive director of the Policy Center on the First Year of College. “You’re an immigrant. You have to become assimilated. But there’s no Ellis Island for these students.”

I commend the effort, and recommend that readers read the full story. That last sentence, however, is telling, reflecting either a corollary to my "rendered unemployable by inclusive education" theme or to my "abandoned to the Romulans" theme. Or perhaps Mr Suess is a kinder, gentler senior noncom.