Monday, August 10, 2015

The Atlantic On Hypersensitivity and Intolerance On College Campuses

The Atlantic recently published two major articles on the growing issues of ideological hypersensitivity and intolerance on college campuses.

1) "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. As they summarize:
In the name of emotional well-being, college students are increasingly demanding protection from words and ideas they don’t like. Here’s why that’s disastrous for education — and mental health.
2) "That's Not Funny! Today’s college students can’t seem to take a joke" by Caitlin Flanagan.  From the article:
[T]hey wanted comedy that was 100 percent risk-free, comedy that could not trigger or upset or mildly trouble a single student. They wanted comedy so thoroughly scrubbed of barb and aggression that if the most hypersensitive weirdo on campus mistakenly wandered into a performance, the words he would hear would fall on him like a soft rain, producing a gentle chuckle and encouraging him to toddle back to his dorm, tuck himself in, and commence a dreamless sleep — not text Mom and Dad that some monster had upset him with a joke.
Both of these are excellent, detailed analyses.

As I said on social media: "If you go to college, you should expect to be exposed to ideas you find disagreeable or even offensive. If you can't handle that, stay home. You can still learn a lot from watching YouTube videos from Khan Academy and Sesame Street."