Working in higher education has caused us to worry about what we see as a troubling trend. Students have become hypersensitive, easily offended by anything that may not jibe with their narrow view of life.
Some of this super-sensitivity includes complaining to the administrators or even filing a Title IX complaint when they are exposed to something they oppose or challenges their worldview. In many classes today, professors struggle to cover the subject matter and encourage discussion while trying not to step on students’ fragile toes – all in an environment where examination, reflection and discovery should be the norm.
How did we get to the point where students are so easily offended and believe they have a right to filter the content they are taught and the method by which it is provided?
College students we see now are often raised by helicopter parents who are intimately involved in most of their childrens’ decision-making. Many of these teens have been shepherded every step of the way, protected or rescued by intervening parents.
Frequently they have spent their unscheduled hours in social isolation, wirelessly connected to opinions that mirror their own perspectives. Many find comfort from like minds and seek shelter from differing points of view.