29 ABOUT CAMPUS / MARCH–APRIL 2016 Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) © 2016 by American College Personnel Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/abc.21230 VIEWS FROM CAMPUS “ DAD, I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW I signed up to be arrested.” It was a quick call from my daughter Mad- die in the spring of her first year at college. This was not a question but a courtesy. She is part of a climate action group that was planning a sit-in at the presi- dent’s office. “Okay. Would you like any advice? As a dad or a dean?” So began a strange journey, 18 years in the mak- ing. What is it like to be in academia and help navigate the process of your kid’s education? This piece provides a two-sided account of this process—from the dean and child. Her First Year SO THE BIG MOMENT ARRIVED. When we dropped Maddie off to college, there were no tears—just fights: “Give her the damn sunglasses.” “Maddie, just tuck and roll. We will open the passenger door automati- cally, GO, GO!” And off she scampered to orientation. But I worried. A lot. On the way home, while Mad- die’s siblings were already making designs on her room (Hello Kitty? GoodBYE, Kitty!), I hoped that all the lectures and awkward ways we tried to fill her with the confidence and wherewithal to manage this time would prevail. As a dean, I know that these six weeks would be the most dangerous for new students. First time away from home. New people. New situations. Knowing the 1,001 ways a student can be injured or traumatized. I have seen it all and shudder to think any of that on my child. And there was the presence of her absence. We just really LIKE her. She was a leav- ening force in the house. Defused fights with siblings. Someone who laughs at my stupid jokes. And she liked catching those little quiet moments together that only proximity can provide. But it has worked out. As we hoped, she met many people on her orientation. She had a roommate from Dubai, one from Las Vegas, and one nearby. She is playing Varsity Rugby and working in the dining hall. Over the summer, her climate action group held weekly Google Hangout sessions, organized their own reading group to educate themselves on the issue, and studied successful protests. She was even an asset for my work. “How is their college culture communicated? By whom? What is rewarded or punished socially there?” She and her boyfriend at the time answered all the questions we peppered at them. Maddie: From the first day of orientation, my first year felt vaguely like a lab experiment in which my social interactions were closely observed by my dad and his administration colleagues. Being the daughter of a dean often meant being stuck in conversations between my dad and a college friend interested in higher educa- tion, where the topic would quickly turn to when and how I preferred to drink at parties (I’m giving another sarcastic thank-you to this friend, who watched me bluster a response). [Note from Scott: This is specula- tive. I will assume my under-aged daughter has not broken any laws of the land]. I like to think that I am naturally responsible, even when drinking. [Note from Scott: Soda]. I am likely to be the (most) sober one taking care of inebriated friends, partially due to my commitment to rugby and As a Dad or a Dean? An Administrator and His Child Go to College By Scott C. Brown and Madeleine S. Lemal-Brown Scott C. Brown shares what he learned from his daughter’ s first year at college.