Kelly in Kansas

In today's WSJ editorial by Peggy Noonan, she points out the class the students had and that some of their faculty did not - clearly indicating their feeling that they are morally superior to a students' parents. I see this from time to time at my university and it continues to amaze me. The ivory tower has to be in a tower sometimes to protect itself from the rest of the real world apparently. No wonder I keep meeting so much resistance as I try to do well by my students and keep a foot in the real world. But the struggle is worth it.

Here's an excerpt:

I want to explain to Ed Doctorow why he was booed. It was not, as he no doubt creamily recounted in a storytelling session over drinks that night in Sag Harbor, that those barbarians in Long Island's lesser ZIP codes don't want to hear the truth. It is not that they oppose free speech. It is not that the poor boobs of Long Island have an unaccountable affection for George W. Bush.

It is that they have class.

The poor stupid people of Long Island are courteous, and have respect for the views and feelings of others, and would not dream of imposing their particular views on a captive audience that has gathered to celebrate--to be happy about, to officially mark with their presence--the rather remarkable fact that one of their family studied and worked for four years, completed his courses, met all demands, and became a graduate of an American university.

This indeed is something to be proud of.