College
Do I tell on sibling regarding Adderall use?
Dear Straight Talk: After reading the warning signs of Adderall abuse in your recent column (MAR 19), I'm 99 percent sure my older brother is on Adderall or something similar. He’s paranoid about his grades being perfect so he…
10 Comments
Academic doping with Adderall not road to excellence
Dear Straight Talk: My very stressed-out son admitted using Adderall as a "study drug." He says he needs it to be competitive. He buys it at high school for $3 a pill, saying, "you can get it everywhere." I had no idea this was such a widespread…
7 Comments
Hover-parented girl wants help finding herself
Dear Straight Talk: My parents have always dominated my life. I’m a junior at a college I hate. I play college sports and a musical instrument I'd rather not play. I’ve never worked, being too busy being "enriched." I sound…
6 Comments
Is boss out to lunch regarding wages?
Dear Straight Talk: My boss keeps telling me young people have it easy today. But I’ve worked 40 hours a week at $12 an hour for eight months and have been unsuccessful at saving money for college. I ride a bicycle six miles to work,…
5 Comments
Kids in hard-hit family not pulling weight
Dear Straight Talk: I have two daughters in college. Due to the recession, our economic situation changed drastically since they were in high school, where they enjoyed private schools, lessons, cars, trips abroad, etc. How do I get…
0 Comments
Absence makes girl’s heart go yonder
Dear Straight Talk: Last week I moved seven hours away from my boyfriend of two years. We are at different colleges and agreed to make it work. But I am having my doubts. He was my first and only boyfriend and I'm feeling like I need…
2 Comments
Boy, parents at odds over gap year
Dear Straight Talk: I'm slated to head off to college in August, but I want to take a gap year in South America first. I have savings and will work as I go. I think immersing in a different culture is good for Americans. My parents…
0 Comments
Friend pulls away as graduation nears
Dear Straight Talk: I'm about to graduate and my best friend, "Lorraine," is pulling away from me. She doesn't call much anymore and when she does, we only talk 15 minutes, not our usual hour. Conversations are not as deep…
0 Comments
Making a better world, Part II
DEAR READERS: Each New Year I ask the panelists: What bugs you most about the world? How would you make the world better? Last week's “better world” column covered concerns about how digital networking has diminished face-to-face…
0 Comments
Pressure-cooker high schools
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Sometimes I think our schools have gone crazy. We expect our kids to get a 4.6 GPA, letter in sports, run student government, play in the orchestra,…
