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Why I worry about my kid at a hypersensitive PC college
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By Andrea Peyser
October 17, 2016

Why I worry about my kid at a hypersensitive PC college

An epic crisis of creepy clowns and political correctness — or is that redundant? — is running rampant on college and university campuses across America and beyond, crushing the joy out of the higher education experience while fanning the flames of reverse racism.

The prospect of submitting to the lunatic culture has hit my family hard. Next fall, my daughter is set to grab a seat in one of these places, potentially amid a viper’s nest of “safe spaces” to protect her after “trigger warnings.”

The thought of paying big money to subject her to the insanity scares the stuffing out of her dad and me, as the PC mania leads to outrages ranging from the silly to the scary.

Counseling is now being offered to students, staff and faculty at the University of Florida who feel discriminated against or emotionally violated — by the sight of Halloween costumes.

Seriously.

A post was conjured up like a wicked witch (or is that Wiccanist?) on the university’s website last week: “Some Halloween costumes reinforce stereotypes of particular races, genders, cultures, or religions.”

Anyone offended or troubled by an All Hallows’ Eve-related incident or getup was invited to seek “24/7” mental health help — or alert the school’s “Bias Education Response Team.”

But underlying the rash of veritable wombs (or am I being sexist?) popping up to shield kiddies (ageist?) from exposure to “microaggressions” — that is, ideas different from their own — there lives rampant bigotry against white people and males, particularly straight, white males.

Examples are legion. Some are pretty lame.

I hope my daughter is able to ignore the craziness (I know, mental-healthist) and receive something precious: knowledge.

An administration officer at Stevenson College in California apologized last year after a student complained about a Mexican-food buffet served at a science fiction-themed event featuring depictions of aliens — the intergalactic kind.

“We would never want to make a connection between individuals of Latino heritage or undocumented students and ‘aliens’ and I am so sorry that our College Night appeared to do exactly that,” Carolyn Golz wrote. The burrito brouhaha prompted her to require staff to undergo cultural competency training.

Hysteria thrives up North and across the pond, too. The University of Ottawa in Canada canceled its free yoga classes last November because they were a “cultural appropriation” and yoga was connected to “cultural genocide.” A “Language Awareness Campaign” instituted at Western University in London last year warns members of the campus community against using words and phrases that are deemed “inherently violent.”

So saying “skinny’’ is not validating, and that one is “blind” to something “ignores the experiences of differently abled individuals.” The term “whitewashed” is “used to insult those who do not conform to negative stereotypes of a community or culture.” And asking “Who wears the pants in your relationship?” is a no-no “because it expects homosexual couples to subscribe to heterosexual norms.”

I feel faint.

Her father and I have tried to instill in our only child a sense of pride for all that she is. That includes being brilliant, beautiful and athletic. Also, white and Jewish.

My fervent wish is that she be judged by the content of her character, not the color of her skin. But every year, an increasing number of schools practice racial segregation. Believe it.

The University of Vermont held a three-day event last year titled “Examining White Privilege: A Retreat for Undergraduate Students Who Self-Identify as White.”

“It’s a bit wordy for a T-shirt, in my humble opinion. They should’ve just called it ‘Blame the White Guy 2015,’ ” Todd Starnes, a white Fox News radio host, posted online. This year’s convention has the somewhat less-charged name “Examining White Identity.” Like this school, Oregon State University has paired its annual race-shaming confabs with “Racial Aikido” retreats meant to “empower” students of color.

One ray of hope comes from the University of Chicago. Its dean of students, John Ellison, Ph.D., is standing up against political indoctrination in favor of academic freedom — declaring in an August letter to incoming freshmen that students will not be coddled.

“Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn, without fear of censorship,” he wrote.

Refreshing.

I hope my daughter is able to ignore the craziness (I know, mental-healthist) and receive something precious: knowledge.

This is going to be a long four years.

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