In academic vernacular, it is and has been for centuries common for a person who is criticizing a given work or statement to be referred to as an opponent. It i

In academic vernacular, it is and has been for centuries common for a person who is criticizing a given work or statement to be referred to as an opponent. It implies not malice, but an indication that that person is presenting a view or idea that differs from the original idea of the work or statement presented in a way that questions its validity or veracity. When one is giving a defense of a thesis or dissertation, the professors who hear the defense are referred to as opponents. To suggest that the very professors who one studies and works with throughout ones degree as actually hostile simply because their job is to find flaws in and oppose the points presented is absurd.