全世界的父母都會對自己的孩子寵愛有加，甚至有些會越俎代庖替孩子處理很多事務。為了讓新生盡快開始獨立生活，美國一所大學特意為他們舉辦了一個正式的“父母告別儀式”，儀式結束后，學生踏入校園，父母則被留在門外。雖然這樣的告別儀式在美國高校里面還不是很普遍，不過越來越多的高校開始采用類似的方式讓新生家長離開校園。有些學校在接待新生時會特意為家長設立單獨的接待點，這樣學生就可以自己去認識室友，在沒有家長干擾的情況下跟他們一起討論宿舍空間分配之類的問題。有的學校則會在新生接待日程上清楚寫明要求家長離校的時間，有了明文規定，告別的時間也就不會拖延太久了。

Alex Bazis, 18, and his father, Tim, at the mailboxes at Grinnell. The college urges parents to leave on moving-in day. (Agencies)

In order to separate doting parents from their freshman sons, Morehouse College in Atlanta has instituted a formal "Parting Ceremony."

It began on a recent evening, with speeches in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. Then the incoming freshmen marched through the gates of the campus -- which swung shut, literally leaving the parents outside.

When University of Minnesota freshmen move in at the end of this month, parental separation will be a little sneakier: mothers and fathers will be invited to a reception elsewhere so students can meet their roommates and negotiate dorm room space -- without adult meddling.

As the latest wave of superinvolved parents delivers its children to college, institutions are building into the day, normally one of high emotion, activities meant to punctuate and speed the separation. It is part of an increasingly complex process, in the age of Skype and twice-daily texts home, in which colleges are urging "Velcro parents" to back off so students can develop independence.

Grinnell College here, like others, has found it necessary to be explicit about when parents really, truly must say goodbye. Move-in day for the 415 freshmen was Saturday. After computer printers and duffle bags had been carried to dorm rooms, everyone gathered in the gymnasium, students on one side of the bleachers, parents on the other.

The president welcoming the class of 2014 had his back to the parents -- a symbolic staging meant to inspire "an aha! moment," said Houston Dougharty, vice president of student affairs, "an epiphany where parents realize, 'My student is feeling more comfortable sitting with 400 people they just met.' "

Shortly after, mothers and fathers were urged to leave campus.

Moving their students in usually takes a few hours. Moving on? Most deans can tell stories of parents who lingered around campus for days. At Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., a mother and father once went to their daughter's classes on the first day of the semester and trouped to the registrar's office to change her schedule, recalled Beverly Low, the dean of first-year students.

"We recognize it's a huge day for families," she said. Still, during various parent meetings on Colgate's move-in day, which is Thursday, Ms. Low and other officials plan to drop not-so-subtle hints that "activities for the class of 2014 begin promptly at 4," she said.

Formal "hit the road" departure ceremonies are unusual but growing in popularity, said Joyce Holl, head of the National Orientation Directors Association. A more common approach is for colleges to introduce blunt language into drop-off schedules specifying the hour for last hugs. As of 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, for example, the parents of Princeton freshmen learn from the move-in schedule, "subsequent orientation events are intended for students only."

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(Agencies)

Vocabulary:

Velcro parents: 魔術貼父母，即送孩子上大學賴著不走的父母。Velcro就是尼龍搭扣，魔術貼。

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）