Academia is not known for proactively changing to adapt to the outside world. (Hope you were sitting down for that revelation). So it’s good to see stories of colleges that are getting with the times and shifting their ways of thinking to be more in tune with the real world.
In this case, the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska has started a unique learning community for single mothers and their children. Single mothers can live on-campus, with their children, and take classes full time. They live in traditional residence halls…but with a twist. Each floor has a dedicated play area for the children and a separate area for Mom to study in peace. There are still community bathrooms, like in any dorm, but families have designated stalls and bathtubs for younger children.

Mothers are encouraged to be part of the campus community and participate in as much of the college experience as they can. The goal is to give single mothers a traditional college experience while still preparing them with the skills they’ll need once they graduate into the real world.

If you want to start a moral debate about single mothers, fine. But you can’t argue with the fact that it is a reality. And colleges need to peer outside of their walls and take a good, long look at reality more often.