Student activism and free speech have been circling around the campuses of many universities and colleges. An administrator at William's College fired back at those who argue that students today are too sensitive when it comes to others' language and perceived biases.
Ferentz Lafargue, William College's Davis Center director (part of the vice president's Office for Institutional Diversity and Equity), penned his argument in the Washington Post that students should be taught to stand up against the discrimination that has been going on in the real world, rather than shield them away from it. He writes in part, "To be sure, the real world is full of anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism and racism. The question is: Do we prepare students to accept the world as it is, or do we prepare them to change it?"
He explained that those who say students need to have a thicker skin to make it in the "real world" don't really get it. "There are broader questions as well, such as: Is college a place for intellectual exploration? Or is it a glorified worker-training program?" Lafargue wrote his piece after the invitation for speakers to speak in the college was cancelled recently. The invitation was first cancelled by students last spring, and now by the president of the private college in Massachusetts last month.
The first event that was canceled was by Suzanne Venker, who co-authored "The Flipside of Feminism: What Conservative Women Know - and Men Can't Say" and "The War on Men with Phyllis Schafly," because some students think she is misogynistic and homophobic. Some even called her antifeminist. Last month, it was the second speaker, John Derbyshire's event that was canceled by the Williams' president himself. Derbyshire was labeled as racist by a group of students, and thus made the president, Adam Falk send out an e-mail that partially reads, "The College didn't invite Derbyshire, but I have made it clear to the students who did that the College will not provide a platform for him."
According to USA Today, Lafargue also pointed out that the real culprit is not the coddling of the students, but the different effects of homophobia, income inequality, misogyny, poverty, racism, sexism, white supremacy and xenophobia. These cause students who are financially distressed to feel bad for using their precious time on things which are not connected to their financial security.
