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15 U. St. Thomas L.J. 1 (2018-2019)

handle is hein.journals/usthomlj15 and id is 1 raw text is: ARTICLE THE ANTI-CODDLING NARRATIVE AND CAMPUS SPEECH ROB KAHN* ABSTRACT In this essay, I respond to an argument raised by some of the sources in Professor Chris Roederer's Editor-in-Chief Lecture, namely that a major reason speech is under assault on college campuses is that college students have been coddled by parents, teachers, and now by university administra- tors. I refer to this as the anti-coddling narrative. In what follows, I argue that the anti-coddling narrative is problematic for two reasons: (1) it does not accurately depict the challenges facing this generation of college stu- dents, and indeed ignores other groups that demand coddling; and (2) it will not convince college students to adopt free speech values. Instead, we should replace the anti-coddling narrative with a perspective that treats campus protests for safe spaces and trigger warnings as speech acts just as worthy of protection as the speech acts they oppose. I. The Anti-Coddling Moment . .......................... 2 II. Is The Coddling Label Accurate? ....................... 5 A. The Actual Challenges Facing Millennials ............. 6 B. Coddling vs. Zero Tolerance . ...................... 8 C. Coddling and Consumerism. ...................... 11 III. The Flawed Politics of the Anti-Coddling Narrative ........ 12 A. The Limits of Intergenerational Name Calling ......... .12 B. Disrespecting Student Speech ...................... 13 C. Coddling and Silencing . ......................... 15 IV. The Benefits of Abandoning the Anti-Coddling Narrative .. 19 A. A Shift from Listeners to Speakers .................. 20 B. Creating A Space to Solve Problems ................ 21 * Professor of Law, University of St. Thomas School of Law. I would like to thank Tom Berg, Neil Hamilton, Greg Sisk, and Jacqueline Baronian. Let me also thank the University of St. Thomas Law Journal editors for their helpful suggestions. They have made this a stronger article as a result. I presented an abbreviated version of this paper at the University of St. Thomas Faculty Research Slam held on January 30, 2018. 1

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