[Richard]

Originally Posted by Basenshukai

Well, Rich, I actually graduated from CUNY and I never saw this type of behavior there. I don't consider it "normal". We had classes with plenty of professors we may not have agreed with, but there was respect exhibited by the student body there. I don't know where you went to school. But, where I went - and more importantly - when I went, this was not something I would have expected to be normal for my fellow students.

Maybe I'm just all fucked up and not in tune with the times as you seem to be.

I prefer Richard.

Young people with still developing forebrains letting their emotions surface in such outbursts of rude behavior - unheard of.

FWIW - my anecdotal experiences differ from yours as I either saw such behaviors amongst portions of student bodies or heard educators speak of it on nearly every campus (high school, college, or university) I ever attended, visited, or had dealings with during my time in education, either personal or professional, from the mid-60's through the first decade of this Century, and throughout the US (including NY at NYU, Columbia, and RTI), Europe, and in SEA (where I watched large bodies of students from Chulalongkorn University riot in what became an overthrow of the government at that time).

In the history of education, it goes back far beyond that and I doubt it'll end during our lifetimes, especially if we continue to encourage "free thinking" and "freedom of expression" as a cultural norm within our society.

Universities are large, interactive bodies, with many things occurring of which we may not be aware while attending to our education - unless something like this is communicated through some form of media or other communication network.

I think we all realize that GEN Petraeus is a nationally recognized figure who, because of his role in our recent past, represents an on-going controversial period in our nation's history generating strong emotional currents deeply affecting our culture. I am sure this is neither his first nor last experience with such heckling groups, but I am a bit surprised that anyone would find it so out of the norm from a group of college age students. It happens to every POTUS - why should someone like GEN Petraeus be exempt from such displays of dissatisfaction of our government's policies?

How long did it take this nation to - for the most part - come to grips with our involvement in Vietnam? I think I can answer that one - if the recent controversies surrounding "The Butler" are any indication, we're still working on it. And I suspect we'll be working on OEF/OIF far beyond my and my son's expectant life spans.

However, there are many who do "get it" - such as these students from the University of the Ozarks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O57oyJ9OnGQ

Sometimes it takes a bit of time, study, experience, and honest self-reflection to understand it all and come to grips with it in our own way.

As for the behaviors of those particular students at CUNY - IMO- boorish, certainly; but unexpected or a representative "norm" of either society or the university's student body as a whole, hardly. However, I suspect they, too, will probably "get it" one day. At least I hope so.

However, YMMV - and so it goes...

Richard