The Coddling Of The American Mind Analysis

The question of whether or not college students have become too “sensitive” is one that is currently being debated in the United States. This issue, which has seemed to increase in the past few years, is one that has angered many due to the fact that what this world needs is straight-forward commentary. In “The Coddling of the American Mind,” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, the issue of college students being too “coddled” is discussed in many different aspects. Similarly, an article published by Scott Stump in Today Parents shows an example of how the effect of political correctness on these students has caused a realization that we are in dire need of some desensitizing. Validating one another, these two articles prove that the coddling

For example, the fact that comedians across the country are having to cancel college appearances simply due to fear of microaggression just shows the lengths of the college student’s sheltered life. The way that we are taught as children, that “adults will do everything in their power to protect you from harm,” (Lukianoff/Haidt) ultimately is something that should, but is not, let go of when age increases. Likewise, this issue has become a very voiced problem at the University of Oklahoma. Recently, the President of the university took “aim at the rising political correctness on campuses across the country with a sharply-worded blog post calling kids "self-absorbed"

For example, it is shown in the first article that many people propose that “helping people avoid the things they fear is misguided” and that “”the presumption that students need to be protected rather than challenged in a classroom is at once infantilizing and anti-intellectual” (Lukianoff/Haidt) due to the fact that it never allows someone to face and ultimately get over the fear. Another new idea that has surfaced which as potential to be harmful for personal growth, especially at this age, is the creation “safe places” being implemented across many college campuses. Like trigger warnings, there are certain situations that may call for a “safe place,” but as the President of the University of Oklahoma points out, college “…is not a 'safe place, ' but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn’t about you, but about others.” (Stump) In other words, we are limiting this generation negatively by not allowing them to be exposed to other opinions other than their own. By making colleges “safe places,” it ultimately infers that the working world is a “safe place,” which could be very misleading