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It’s weird how much this is not my experience with academia. I spent _way_ too long getting my BS at a state school, then I worked for Cornell as a programmer

It’s weird how much this is not my experience with academia. I spent _way_ too long getting my BS at a state school, then I worked for Cornell as a programmer in an engineering grad school for several years, and now all my friends are grad students, instructors, and post-docs. Like there was literally no one else at my last barbecue, but I don’t know anyone who talks like this, and I have never seen protests or commotion on campus. I guess it might be because I mostly know engineering students, but I’m having trouble locating this epidemic of societal breakdown everyone seems to be talking about...

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
bbctol 9y ago
It's because this is a moral panic from people who think they're immune to moral panics.
praisewhitey 9y ago
I did my undergrad 10 years ago in a very large US college. Now I'm back doing grad in a different very large US college. The people the author is talking about do exist, but I would estimate there's about 100 of them in my college of ~39,000. And even then, how many of them will still be that way 5 years out of college?
- eximius 9y ago
  100 people showing up en masse at relevant events can cause quite a stir and wield an absurd amount of influence if they are loud.
- posterboy 9y ago
  whats the unit you are counting in, milliagressions per cubicstudent? /s but I mean not everyone weighs in the same nor is it a sharp cutoff.
jdpigeon 9y ago
I volunteered at a few food co-ops and student-run cafes during both undergrad and graduate school. It got me out of my bubble of science/technology classmates and exposed me to a lot of this world. There was never any bad behaviour, just plenty of students getting as serious about post-modern and feminist theory as I was about my science.
tetromino_ 9y ago
The examples brought up seem to mostly have occurred in (1) small private liberal arts colleges; or (2) Berkeley. I am guessing that non-Berkeley research universities are not affected, or not affected as heavily.
- jdpigeon 9y ago
  Happened at the University of Toronto, which is definitely a large research university http://torontosun.com/2017/03/17/protesters-crash-controversial-u-of-t-profs-appearance/wcm/647607d5-8f6e-4751-bcee-921856672b9c http://torontosun.com/2017/03/17/protesters-crash-controvers...
  - tetromino_ 9y ago
    > [...] as he spoke about free speech and political correctness at McMaster University The protests were not at the University of Toronto, but against a professor employed by the University of Toronto :) See the opening paragraph of your linked article.
cgh 9y ago
It existed at my smallish Canadian university back in the '90s, using much of the same language. Postmodern left-wing student radicalism isn't some new phenomenon. What is new is the reach of the internet and my guess is a lot of this silliness is magnified by that medium.
- WkndTriathlete 9y ago
  Agreed. It was at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the '90s as well, and it was helped along by the campus newspaper. (It always struck me as odd that this campus newspaper would regularly win student journalism awards when its reporters clearly had an agenda and made no efforts to hide their bias or persuasive efforts from readers.)
- oceanghost 9y ago
  In the late 90s at UC Riverside, the hostility was palpable. The campus required every student to take a course on "ethnic studies." The course demonized whites over the usual gripes, slavery, Native Americans, US Mexico war, Columbus, Captain Cook, etc. This was not presented in its historical context, just agonizing, emotionally manipulative details. Native societies were always presented as near utopias before the arrival of whites. What was so odd to me, my two instructors (Prof and PHD candidate), were both White. It was very clear that I was supposed to feel guilt and shame for being white. The course absolutely poisoned the campus since nearly everyone had to take it. I remember a La Raza (a Hispanic racist organization to be honest). Marching, angrily for in-state tuition for illegal aliens (UC System has two fee structures-- a discounted one for California residents, and one for non-California residents). It was insanity because foreign nationals who had followed the rules would pay more, as would out of state citizens, but those arguably least entitled to public resources also paid the least. As always, any rational discussion, or even nuanced agreement was demonized. You either agreed 100% or were the scum of the earth. I have never, nor will I ever feel guilty for being white. I also didn't do any of the things shitty things that happened in the past, NOR WAS IT DONE TO THE PEOPLE who seemed to be blaming me for their personal problems. I was in my early 20s, was offered a great PHD program (by UCR standards), and while many many factors went into the decision, I knew I didn't want to spend another 3 or 4 years with people who by and large hated me.
remarkEon 9y ago
I think this is a relatively recent thing, maybe emerging around 2014.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

bbctol 9y ago

It's because this is a moral panic from people who think they're immune to moral panics.

praisewhitey 9y ago

I did my undergrad 10 years ago in a very large US college. Now I'm back doing grad in a different very large US college. The people the author is talking about do exist, but I would estimate there's about 100 of them in my college of ~39,000. And even then, how many of them will still be that way 5 years out of college?

eximius 9y ago
100 people showing up en masse at relevant events can cause quite a stir and wield an absurd amount of influence if they are loud.
posterboy 9y ago
whats the unit you are counting in, milliagressions per cubicstudent? /s but I mean not everyone weighs in the same nor is it a sharp cutoff.

jdpigeon 9y ago

I volunteered at a few food co-ops and student-run cafes during both undergrad and graduate school. It got me out of my bubble of science/technology classmates and exposed me to a lot of this world. There was never any bad behaviour, just plenty of students getting as serious about post-modern and feminist theory as I was about my science.

tetromino_ 9y ago

The examples brought up seem to mostly have occurred in (1) small private liberal arts colleges; or (2) Berkeley. I am guessing that non-Berkeley research universities are not affected, or not affected as heavily.

jdpigeon 9y ago
Happened at the University of Toronto, which is definitely a large research university http://torontosun.com/2017/03/17/protesters-crash-controversial-u-of-t-profs-appearance/wcm/647607d5-8f6e-4751-bcee-921856672b9c http://torontosun.com/2017/03/17/protesters-crash-controvers...
- tetromino_ 9y ago
  > [...] as he spoke about free speech and political correctness at McMaster University The protests were not at the University of Toronto, but against a professor employed by the University of Toronto :) See the opening paragraph of your linked article.

cgh 9y ago

It existed at my smallish Canadian university back in the '90s, using much of the same language. Postmodern left-wing student radicalism isn't some new phenomenon. What is new is the reach of the internet and my guess is a lot of this silliness is magnified by that medium.

WkndTriathlete 9y ago
Agreed. It was at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in the '90s as well, and it was helped along by the campus newspaper. (It always struck me as odd that this campus newspaper would regularly win student journalism awards when its reporters clearly had an agenda and made no efforts to hide their bias or persuasive efforts from readers.)
oceanghost 9y ago
In the late 90s at UC Riverside, the hostility was palpable. The campus required every student to take a course on "ethnic studies." The course demonized whites over the usual gripes, slavery, Native Americans, US Mexico war, Columbus, Captain Cook, etc. This was not presented in its historical context, just agonizing, emotionally manipulative details. Native societies were always presented as near utopias before the arrival of whites. What was so odd to me, my two instructors (Prof and PHD candidate), were both White. It was very clear that I was supposed to feel guilt and shame for being white. The course absolutely poisoned the campus since nearly everyone had to take it. I remember a La Raza (a Hispanic racist organization to be honest). Marching, angrily for in-state tuition for illegal aliens (UC System has two fee structures-- a discounted one for California residents, and one for non-California residents). It was insanity because foreign nationals who had followed the rules would pay more, as would out of state citizens, but those arguably least entitled to public resources also paid the least. As always, any rational discussion, or even nuanced agreement was demonized. You either agreed 100% or were the scum of the earth. I have never, nor will I ever feel guilty for being white. I also didn't do any of the things shitty things that happened in the past, NOR WAS IT DONE TO THE PEOPLE who seemed to be blaming me for their personal problems. I was in my early 20s, was offered a great PHD program (by UCR standards), and while many many factors went into the decision, I knew I didn't want to spend another 3 or 4 years with people who by and large hated me.

remarkEon 9y ago

I think this is a relatively recent thing, maybe emerging around 2014.