There’s a familiar Chinese curse (although Wikipedia says it is only known to speakers of the English language): “may you live in interesting times.” Reed College found itself in interesting times indeed about two weeks ago as stories about the so-called ‘barring’ of a first-year student from Hum 110 rolled across the internet.
Among the commentators was one with first-hand knowledge of Hum 110: Ryan Cooper. Ryan earned his Reed degree in chemistry in 2008, but like all first-year Reedies, he completed the two-semester Hum sequence. It’s nice to see a Reed scientist putting his humanities training (and, dare I say, his chemistry training?) to good use as a commentator on national issues (Ryan writes for The Week and other periodicals: Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post).
Here is what Ryan had to say about the Hum 110 story: Jeremiah True, Reed College, and the limits of free speech (The Week, Opinion, March 23, 2015)