The University of Michigan states that one of the main reasons it wants to cover grades for incoming freshmen is to “curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals.”

Keep in mind, this is also an institution that brings in over $150 million through its football team. 

When some 18- and 19-year-olds are going into the Armed Forces, some into trade schools to be the next HVAC technicians, plumbers, and electricians that our country desperately needs, and some gearing up to take the field in “The Big House” in front of over 107,000 fans, do thousands of other freshmen need academic expectations taken off of them? My guess is Head Coach Kyle Whittingham is not going to just shrug off poor effort and results and give the ol “we’ll get ‘emnext time, buddy” when freshman and five-star recruit Savion Hiter completely botches a game. 

College should prepare young adults for the real world and all its difficult choices and consequences. In almost all endeavors in life, underachieving is not rewarded. 

Because, look, this is not to say that the statistics from the Mayo Clinic showing that almost half of college-age students report symptoms of depression are false. I am sure they do. And that is sad. 

But other elite universities like Johns Hopkins have tried this approach before. The door was slammed on it as Johns Hopkins faculty reported that high-performing freshmen were negatively impacted by the practice. Even more bothersome, they report that covering grades merely delayed the development of college-level study skills and adaptation to college life and expectations.

Yet, as a culture, we have been moving toward this for some time now. Almost gone are the days when young people had chores that established rhythms of labor and contribution to the family. Gone are the days when kids explored, took calculated (and sometimes not so calculated) risks, and got beat up and bruised. Tough skin, both physically and metaphorically. 

Here are the days of YouTube and iPad babysitting, helicopter parenting, and an indoor lifestyle. 

According to the head of psychology at UCL, Dr. Peter Fonagy, studies are showing that those entering college “are characterized by lower confidence, higher anxiety and increased rates of depression.”

Is it any wonder that when kids grow up and spend, on average, over 7 hours a day on screens, do not go outside, or have strict responsibilities, their ability to adapt, persevere, and handle expectations fails? 

However, as a people, a culture, a society, we should be trying to address the issue at the root and make changes that help our young people become more resilient, adaptive, and able to stand when hard expectations arise. We need not create atmospheres even further into life that fail to prepare young people for the ups and downs that lie ahead. 

There is a proverb that says, “The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied.”

From the adolescent who doesn’t do their chores but screams over the toy that they want or the show they want to watch, to the college freshman who just wants to skate by their first semester with their grades covered for them, to the middle-aged person trying to cheat the system instead of being productive, craving will devour the mind, while hard work creates satisfaction. 

Hard effort, perseverance, and meaningful work have been linked to better mental health for some time now. Higher education does not need to start down the road of taking that link away. 

HOW UNIVERSITIES TAUGHT AN ENTIRE GENERATION TO HATE THE WEST

Hardly any sphere in life rewards half-hearted effort with the same compensation as diligent work. Unless, of course, you believe in the mantra of “everybody wins and gets a trophy.” 

Young people, work hard, be resilient, get outside, be diligent in your work, and be satisfied. Your future self will thank you, even if your college does not. 

Joseph C. Stewart is a Ph.D. researcher, and writer on the intersection of culture, ethics, and theology, whose work has appeared in publications including American Thinker and Colorado Politics.