To the editor:

Recent events at Kansas University have spurred conversations about important issues on college campuses. Articles attempting to objectively report the events on campus divide readers into those who stand in solidarity with minority students and Black Lives Matter, and those who claim just another example of “coddling” college students.

As a doctoral candidate who has taught at KU for over 10 semesters, I can say that coddling of college students is certainly a problem. Without exception, every semester, students come to my office expecting extensions on assignments they have known about for 16 weeks. I am accused of grading “too hard” when students turn in substandard work that neglects basic requirements of an assignment. Every semester, students demand study guides, easier exams and to be “coddled” against the realities of accountability and hard work required to earn a degree.

And as someone who has taught at KU for 10 semesters, I can say that the vast majority of these students requesting to be “coddled” are white and privileged. This is not to say that there aren’t students with legitimate concerns that interfere with coursework, but I do not coddle these students. I listen to them and empathize. I treat them with dignity and humanity. I lose nothing by validating their experiences and attempting to understand their unique challenges.

Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk is not demanding to be coddled. They are demanding to be treated with the dignity and respect the university community has failed to secure for them.