Universities Should Keep Students “Physically Safe” — NOT “Intellectually Safe”

Wise words from Van Jones

A triggered university student hearing contrary ideas — image via MidJourney

Students at colleges and universities should be safe from physical harm. They should not be safe from intellectual offense or emotional discomfort.

That is the opinion of many reasonable Americans from both the left and the right — and at multiple points on the spectrum in between.

Unfortunately, far too many university students, faculty, and administrators have taken the concept of safety to an extreme.

Anyone unfamiliar with this trend should read The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. It was published in 2018. The problem continues to this day. In many ways, it’s gotten worse.

A year before the book was released, Van Jones denounced this trend on the socio-political left at a forum at the University of Chicago. A three-time New York Times bestselling author and popular CNN host and contributor, Jones criticized fellow liberals who seek to curtail speech or stifle opposing perspectives that they deem offensive or uncomfortable.

You can watch a clip from that forum below…