Navy SEAL finds no snowflakes among real undergraduate

Today's college students are receiving a heap of obloquy, often based on
isolated and exaggerated accounts of what's really going on in
universities.  I read these accounts, weigh them against what I've observed
since I began teaching 55 years ago, and realize they're mostly vicious and
misguided.  The general technique is to represent a single event as typical
of life in the thousands of four-year institutions in the USA, without any
effort at rigor.

So, it's worthwhile to note this account by a 52 year old Navy SEAL who
chose to attend Yale and was bowled over by what he saw: smart and
industrious undergraduates, thoughtful about today's world.  Worth a look.

My Semester With the Snowflakes
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At 52, I was accepted to Yale as a freshman. The students I met there
surprised me.
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I hear the term occasionally from buddies of mine who I love, they say
things like; =E2=80=9Chow are things up there with the liberal snowflakes?=
=E2=80=9D
Let me assure you, I have not met one kid who fits that description. None
of the kids I=E2=80=99ve met seem to think that they are =E2=80=9Cspecial=
=E2=80=9D any more than
any other 18=E2=80=9322-year-old. These kids work their asses off. I have a=
sked a
couple of them to help me with my writing. One young woman volunteered to
help me by proof-reading my =E2=80=9Cprose=E2=80=9D and, for the record, I =
believe she will
be the President someday.
...
It hit me that what I thought a =E2=80=9Csafe space=E2=80=9D meant, was not=
 accurate. This
young woman, the one who used the phrase, =E2=80=9CSafe Space=E2=80=9D isn=
=E2=80=99t scared of
anything. She is a life-force of goodness and strength. She doesn=E2=80=99t=
 need
anyone to provide a comfortable environment for her. What she meant by
=E2=80=9Csafe space=E2=80=9D was that she was happy to be in an environment=
 where difficult
subjects can be discussed openly, without the risk of disrespect or harsh
judgement. This works both ways. What I mean is, this young woman was
comfortable, in this University setting, wrestling with things like the
Aristotelian idea of some humans being born as =E2=80=9Cnatural slaves.=E2=
=80=9D She was
quite comfortable in that space. The question was, how comfortable was the
52-year-old white guy in that discussion? Did it make me uncomfortable?
Yes. I=E2=80=99m grateful for the discomfort. Thinking about things I don=
=E2=80=99t
understand or have, for most of my life, written off, is a good thing.
Being uncomfortable is KEY in this world of ours...

A very worthwhile contribution.

Dan