Malia Obama recently sent social media into a frenzy when a video surfaced of the teenager smoking. What exactly the former first daughter was smoking is still a mystery, but the video clip left many Americans wondering the same thing: Should she be held to a higher standard than other college students?
College students around the world have been known to engage in what some consider scandalous activities, but to their advantage, most do not have the pressure of the entire world watching them. Being the daughter of the once most powerful man in the world, definitely has its disadvantages.
Kareem Davis, a second year Informational Technology student, said that he’s happy he isn't the child of someone famous because it allows him to make his mistakes privately and learn from them. He also added that it really isn’t anyone’s business what Malia Obama does.
“I think everybody should just mind their business and let her live her life… she already has two parents to answer to. Now three million people on Twitter think they are her parents too.” Davis says.
In the past, the general public were not as privy to the lives of the president’s kids. Yes, the Bush sisters made headlines for their underage drinking, but they did not have peers with social media accounts posting videos of them at social outings.
Current First Daughter Ivanka Trump and Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, both took to Twitter to publicly defend Malia Obama. They argued that she is a private citizen and should be allowed the same privacy as her school-aged peers.
However, fourth year Psychology student Breanna Evans-Taylor does not agree. Evans-Taylor believes that even though Barack Obama isn't the president anymore, Malia should carry herself as if he were still president.
“She should considered the fact that her father was once the most important man in America and even though he is not in that same position, she should still uphold those same values.” Says Evans-Taylor.
But should the same values still apply? What exactly are these values that she isn’t upholding?
A part of being a teenager is growing and making mistakes. At 19, no one can say that they have their life all figured out, and no one should expect Malia to have hers figured out just because of her powerful father.
Barack Obama admitted in his memoir, Dreams From My Father (1995), that he used marijuana and “maybe a little blow” in his youth. This is not to condone his drug use, but he did turn out to be the first African American President of the United States.
A few days after the video of Malia smoking hit the web, a second video of the college student began circling the internet. This time she was seen cozying up to a male counterpart at her school’s football game.
This too is not out of the ordinary for a college student, but once it hit the web the opinions quickly formed.
While it is very true that her social status is far different from any other ordinary college freshmen, it does not excuse the fact the she is still just a college student and she should be able to act like one as well.