The Real Snowflakes
“Is it as crazy as it looks?” As a student at the University of California at Berkeley, that’s one of the first questions my parents’ friends ask. No, I tell them, it’s not that bad. There is a loud minority that gets disproportionate attention in the news. But most of us on campus enjoy the free exchange of ideas.
It’s true, there’s a liberal bias. Conservatives sometimes hold back their opinions in the classroom for fear of opprobrium. There’s an irony here: The same students who mock “snowflakes” asking for safe spaces are often the ones complaining they’re uncomfortable voicing their beliefs in the classroom. The social pressure is real enough; but if safe spaces aren’t necessary, speak up. The professor isn’t going to fail you. Well, not most of them, anyway.
—Patrick Laird, University of California at Berkeley, business and political science