The Fragile Kittens Known As College Students
Middlebury Campus newspaper editorial calling for a different kind of diversity: "We all agree diversity is important; now we must learn to make room for diversity of opinion." More from the piece:
In her column in this week's Campus, President Laurie Patton stresses the importance of resilience. "Resilience," she writes, "is one of those words we think we know, but we don't necessarily stop to reflect on." Starting this year, she writes, the Middlebury community will "embark on a coordinated effort to reflect on the importance of these qualities and develop programs to enhance them."In addition to the qualities that President Patton attributes to the word, we at the Campus define resilience as how Middlebury prepares students for the world they will face after graduation. This requires the ability to engage with points of view that we disagree with, especially those that offend us or make us uncomfortable.
Some of the aspects of this community that we most pride ourselves on - our promotion of liberal ideals and emphasis on mutual respect and safe spaces - can have the effect of insulating us and stifling a diversity of opinion. The world-at-large is not Middlebury, and we fear we are leaving here unprepared for the "unsafe spaces" that await us.
We Middlebury students have a tendency to plug our ears and avoid listening to dissenting opinions instead of learning from them or challenging them. For example, in 2012, Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science Murray Dry was vilified for taking a legalistic view of affirmative action at a panel designed to showcase a diversity of opinions. A year later, the campus was in uproar over a lecture by University of Pennsylvania Law Professor Amy Wax, some students even opting to hold up signs reading "racist." Similarly, some felt that Middlebury's invitation to Harvey Mansfield last year was an implicit endorsement of his social views, even claiming he invoked feelings of fear. And when Chance the Rapper came to perform, we asked him to censor his most controversial lyrics, and then demanded a forum to debrief how the whole ordeal made us feel.
Developmental psychologist Peter Gray notes that declining student resilience is a problem for colleges, writing at Psychology Today that college personnel everywhere are struggling with students' increased neediness:
Students are increasingly seeking help for, and apparently having emotional crises over, problems of everyday life. Recent examples mentioned included a student who felt traumatized because her roommate had called her a "bitch" and two students who had sought counseling because they had seen a mouse in their off-campus apartment. The latter two also called the police, who kindly arrived and set a mousetrap for them.Faculty at the meetings noted that students' emotional fragility has become a serious problem when in comes to grading. Some said they had grown afraid to give low grades for poor performance, because of the subsequent emotional crises they would have to deal with in their offices. Many students, they said, now view a C, or sometimes even a B, as failure, and they interpret such "failure" as the end of the world. Faculty also noted an increased tendency for students to blame them (the faculty) for low grades--they weren't explicit enough in telling the students just what the test would cover or just what would distinguish a good paper from a bad one. They described an increased tendency to see a poor grade as reason to complain rather than as reason to study more, or more effectively.
He says parents aren't entirely to blame -- we've become a helicopter society. And I see the "zero tolerance" policies at schools as a major facet of this.
Middlebury via @JonHaidt
What the f*ck did they think was going to happen when everyone gets a trophy for just showing up? I shudder to think what the field running for POTUS in 15-20 years is going to look like.
sara at September 28, 2015 6:00 AM
It starts in Middle School and continues in High School (and remember we are talking about the students that "succeeded").
Since the answer of having standards of conduct/behavior and requiring adherence would be considered "draconian" (unusually severe or cruel) is obviously not "correct", the libs/Teacher Unions rule (we need more money).
We have quite a few buildings in most cities that could be used as remedial schools and a lot of graduates that could teach these courses so I'm not surprised that libs/Unions do not advocate this (got to keep the good students "dumb" and maintain a pool of "I needs help" voters.
Bob in Texas at September 28, 2015 6:04 AM
15-20 years from now ?
George P. Bush (Jeb's son) vs. Chelsea Mesvinsky-Clinton.
Bet money on it. . .
Keith Glass at September 28, 2015 6:34 AM
Is it because they've been spoon fed that any who disagrees with the Correct Positions on Things isn't just wrong, or misguided, but in an actual state of sin and potentially an evil doer?
You PC, bro?
I R A Darth Aggie at September 28, 2015 7:21 AM
two students who had sought counseling because they had seen a mouse in their off-campus apartment. The latter two also called the police, who kindly arrived and set a mousetrap for them.
God on a wheel. I'm sure some here think that I'm hard on parents, but shit like this can't be laid on the college, on the schools, on teachers, on society, on video games, on television or any of the other scapegoats.
What parent raises a college student who calls the police on a mouse?
Kevin at September 28, 2015 8:09 AM
I must admit the police were very kind to set that mouse trap. If it was me I would have told them this isn't a police matter and if they called about this again they were looking at a fine or jail time for wasting police resources.
Makes you wonder how cute they were.
Ben at September 28, 2015 8:22 AM
And Kevin, as a one off event I couldn't care less. There are always a few nut bags around. Something like 5% of Americans believe Elvis is still alive. Which is kind of amazing since no one under 40 ever went to an Elvis concert or really listened to any of his music. His name is kept alive more as a movie joke than anything else.
The real issue is these aren't one off events. As IRA points out, PC and the SJW crowd view all opposition as psychotic (the new euphemism for evil) or racist (even when race isn't involved since this is the old euphemism for evil). And how do they spread their views? In the public schools.
Ben at September 28, 2015 8:31 AM
And Kevin, as a one off event I couldn't care less. There are always a few nut bags around.
Agreed, and that's precisely my point: There are a hell of a lot of parents sending their kids into the world without the basic capabilities of doing a load of laundry or setting a mousetrap. I'm no fan of schools, but this comes from the home.
Kevin at September 28, 2015 10:08 AM
I must admit the police were very kind to set that mouse trap. If it was me I would have told them this isn't a police matter and if they called about this again they were looking at a fine or jail time for wasting police resources.
If it had been me I'd have arrested them on the spot and explained that to them as I was booking them into jail
lujlp at September 28, 2015 10:12 AM
Good grief! Can we all take a breath for a moment?
Did anybody notice that the Middlebury campus newspaper is AGREEING that far too many college students have been coddled into fragility? This is a pretty remarkable thing, considering that Middlebury is essentially ground-zero for many of the trends folks on this blog revile.
Railmeat at September 28, 2015 10:26 AM
Should have called Klondike Kat. He always gets his mouse.
Conan the Grammarian at September 28, 2015 10:42 AM
Circa 1974, I heard a girl shrieking from one of the nearby apartments on campus. A cat had sneaked through her door when she opened it, and she was "afraid of cats" - obviously a full-blown phobia. The cat was hiding under the bed from the racket, and it was no problem scooping it up and taking it outdoors. Regrettably, now that I was covered with cat cooties, she couldn't stand to have me near...
So I can see one student freaking out over a mouse, but two? OTOH, who were a pair of college students who'd never been required to handle any problem for themselves going to call? It's not irrational to avoid mice if you can easily get someone else to handle it; they carry diseases, they're nearly impossible to corner, and they will bite when cornered. Trapping them works, but traps aren't free, you have to know how to set traps, and if they work you've got a dead mouse to dispose of.
markm at September 29, 2015 6:34 AM
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