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maintain standards of conduct and in the process create
opportunities either for a fruitful educational experience or a
personal nightmare.
The question of institutional context is made all the more
relevant by reports from numerous institutions of falling
inquiries and enrollments in Washington internship programs.
Certainly, parental fears over personal safety are one driving
force behind the statistics. But fear of adolescent exposure to
anthrax, adultery and abduction should be tempered by assurances
from educational institutions of the supports put in place to
protect students from physical and psychological harm, and to
foster their intellectual advancement.
In fact, the stories of Monica Lewinsky and Chandra Levy are as
much about the failure of adult institutions and individuals to
exercise responsibility as they are about moral lapses on the
part of these young women. Their stories are also about the
convenient notion that adolescence ends precipitously at age 21,
at which time even students are to be totally autonomous, grown
up and capable of navigating the adult world.
Convention