Undergrad links to Obama’s comments about students being ‘coddled,’ gets ripped by peers

Ah, once again we read about the intolerance of those who purport to be all about tolerance.

When Claremont McKenna student Kate Hartman had posted a link to President Obama’s remarks about college students being too “coddled,” student Sarah Gissinger — “who was recently appointed to be a Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion by the Dean of Students office” — took Hartman to task, invoking her skin color:

“As a white person, you will never experience racism.”

Gissinger also told Hartman that “since you are white, you have absolutely no business making such a comment.”

And this wasn’t all.

Liat Kaplan, editor-in-chief of the student “humor” publication The Golden Antlers, said in a Facebook comment “Tbh [to be honest] I would bully that girl out of school if she wasn’t already transferring.” (Screen cap here.)

Hartman’s story was related by her mother Carol, who happens to be former head of the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association.

The elder Hartman complained about the “current events and cultural shift at the college” in an April 26 letter to the college administration and board of trustees.

The Claremont Independent reports:

“The college setting may be the first time some students have to exhibit empathy, proportionality, responsibility and respect to their peers who might have very differing beliefs, opinions or perspective. It is not the prerogative of a student, who is on campus for 4 years, to change the historical culture and perspective of our college,” Hartman writes. “I do not believe that any majority of the alumni are supporting of the current events and cultural shift at the college.” Hartman goes on to criticize president Chodosh, “A President who leads with his own mission, Social Justice, rather than CMC’s mission. They are not aligned.”

“Claremont McKenna College was once a remarkable place,” notes the senior Hartman. “My experience as a student was that it was a meritocracy. It is not today.”

“My daughter has applied and been accepted as a transfer to other universities,” she adds. “The culture of inclusion has created a hostile environment for those who have a different opinion and who are not Persons of Color.”

“It’s such an aggressive environment,” Kate Hartman told the Claremont Independent. “It seems like people really are not willing to sit down and listen to the opinions of others.”

“By choosing to make disagreements on campus climate personal, students undermine the opportunity to learn and grow from differing opinions,” she added. “I think there is a larger trend of people veiling a desire to silence opposing opinions as activism and progressive inclusion.”

Indeed. With no sense of irony, a recent Facebook post by The Golden Antlers’ Kaplan proclaims her to be a proud “pro-diversity” CMCer:

kaplan-petition