The Irritating Semicolon

I was reminded this past week while grading papers why at least twice a semester I grow to despise and truly hate the semicolon. It is not that I hate the use of the semicolon, and nor I am suggesting that my grammar and punctuation is anywhere close to perfect. However, in the hands newly minted college students (i.e. college freshmen) the semicolon seems to be used in such creative ways that would make any literate person mad. Instead of commas, there is the semicolon. Instead of periods, there is the semicolon. Instead of apostrophes, there is the semicolon. Instead of colons, there is the semicolon.

I have yet to figure out why there is the overuse of the semicolon in undergraduate papers. I've seen some students insert the semicolon so often into a 2-4 page paper that it rivals the same frequency of use as all other punctuation marks combined. This is troubling to me for a number of reasons. First, as often stated in a number of other scenarios, this semicolon dilemma is symptomatic of a larger problem in the U.S. - failing education system. I know that the U.S. is behind most other industrialized nations in terms of primary or K-12 education. Yet, there is still a mounting pressure to send kids off to college here in the hopes of better career. I can't fathom why we send woefully under-prepared kids into college with the expectation that the college will correct any problems with students' abilities. Second, I also find it troublesome that often these kids are passed through classes without the faintest idea that they are not producing high quality work. If you are reading this and are in academia, you surely have felt the pressure at some point to give higher grades than is warranted. I cringe at the though that a kid that truly deserves a C will get a B simply because an individual wants to avoid confrontation with the student. This cannot be good for the job market or the student. Sooner or later the student will fall short and may not be able to handle the situation appropriately. Perhaps this is why my generation is getting labelled as entitled (and that really sucks).