In Nathan Heller’s article “THE BIG UNEASY” publish in the New Yorker, he addresses many points of view on the activism taking place at universities, and especially, Oberlin College. He began by citing examples of this activism through – what is mostly comprised of Liberal-Arts educations – the changes that universities and colleges alike had to go through in order to appease its students. For example, Yale was told that they had to avoid offensive Halloween costumes for the sake of it denouncing transgressive expression. Harvard also went through many changes, one of the more impactful ones being that they had to change their “house masters” to faculty deans in fear of it being offensive. Finally, Bowdoin student, Heller notes, were punished for wearing sombreros to a tequila party. With this information at hand, I think it to be incredible that so many people are so offended by so many things these days. I am not justifying anyone’s actions and I am certainly not agreeing with or denying the wrongdoing of any of these actions, but I find it incredible to see how coddled so many young people are today. A quotation I found to be interesting on the matter was,
“…arguing that young people taught to embrace “vindictive protectiveness” were being poorly educated for the challenges of the real world. Shielding students from the unwelcome ideas was unhealthy for the workforce and the democratic commonweal,”
I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. I do not think that this statement could be any more accurate than it is.
I believe this statement to be true because in the workforce, not everybody is going to see eye-to-eye on everything. Most people will not respect one another and most people are only there to work for themselves so that they can earn enough money to support their family and themselves. There are a few natural-born leaders who make everyone feel like a unit and address issues properly, however, that is definitely a small minority. But, to go back to my argument of sorts, if we are not teaching people how to deal with adversity and how to deal with people who do not like them, then what are we teaching people about how to deal with the real world? Socially, how can they survive? How can someone survive who is easily offended? I am not saying that people who are offended easily can succeed or survive in a social climate. But, I am saying that if one does not learn to have thick skin and be able to deal with adversity, then they will be dealing with a lot of anger and sadness and not a whole lot of optimism or happiness about being who they are. If I have offended anyone with my previous statements, I apologize and am always open for a discussion about it. However, truth be told, I think it is a bit ridiculous that I even have to include an apology to begin with. Just trying to start an interesting discussion!
E367: Writing and Diversity 
Bridget, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and I can definitely relate to the points that you are bringing up! I feel as if the whole point is definitely for college to challenge its students in order to prepare them for the real world. As you stated I also am unsure if colleges are raising the appropriate challenges/problems that would relate to a real world situation. I believe that we are getting the education that we need but I also feel as if a lot of the problems that we deal with in college are not similar to the ones that we would deal with in a real world with a real job. I as well agree with the quote that you pulled out from Keller’s text. Stating that us students will not see eye-to-eye as other employers. This is because in college often times we are the same age, come from a similar background, and for the main part are striving for the same goal. In a real life situation and being in the workforce often times our co-workers are much different than you, come from a different background, are much older, and maybe even have kids. This right here is what might raise some problems and some real ones.
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My apologies Winston this was a response for you and not Bridget. I accidently put her name at the top because I read hers right before reading yours after. This response is meant for you.
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Hey Winston,
I’m not offended. But I’m not entirely convinced either. Your response seems to assume that the job of higher education is to prepare students to succeed in the “real world”. I can see that task as part of what college needs to do, but I’m not sure that is the entirety of its mission. The authors you quote are concerned not only about how college prepares students for the “workforce” but also for the “democratic commonweal”. I’d like to hear more from you about how college prepares (or fails to prepare) students for being critical citizens in that “democratic commonweal”. What does Heller suggest about how that job is being done (or not) at Oberlin?
Joe
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Winston, I think that pointing out the difference between being politically correct and being hyper-offended is important to point out. It seems that more and more people are finding things offensive. Another point I think should be brought up is this “keyboard warrior” mentality that is becoming more prevalent. I think that if there is a keyboard between two people, the one who is offended will feel more comfortable objecting to the situation. Fairly, the one offending will feel more comfortable defending themselves. Finding a space that is comfortable enough to be yourself is difficult in any setting. It’s a matter of being comfortable in your own skin.
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Winston,
I would definitely agree with a couple points that you have. In an ideal world, no one is offended and everyone feels welcomed. However, this is an unrealistic goal and put colleges in a tough position. How do colleges attempt to pick who to comfort and console and who gets left behind? Clearly, not everyone can always feel welcomed. I think this is something that students have to realize; not all wants are going to be met by the constitution. That is not to say students do not have a right to their feelings. However, not every single offensive incident can be absolved.
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