Talk of coddled students and the squashing of unpopular positions started back in October when student groups first demanded the cancellation of a speaker.

USA Today reports.

Williams College administrator slams perception that students are coddled

As criticism of student concerns about microaggressions mounts, one college administrator at Williams College has come to their defense.

Ferentz Lafargue, director of the school’s Davis Center — part of the Vice President’s Office for Institutional Diversity and Equity — has written a piece in The Washington Post arguing that college should not insulate students from the bigotry that occurs in the real world, but rather encourage them to stand up against it.

He writes in part, “To be sure, the real world is full of anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism and racism. The question is: Do we prepare students to accept the world as it is, or do we prepare them to change it?”

Those who say students need to develop thicker skin to survive in the “real world” misses the point he says. “There are broader questions as well, such as: Is college a place for intellectual exploration? Or is it a glorified worker-training program?”