Leftists are notorious for their lack of a sense of humor. Any joke might set one of them off because “progressivism” keeps them constantly on edge, looking for any way to attack a perceived enemy.

One faculty member who recently discovered that is Professor Trent Bertrand of Johns Hopkins. Make that formerly of Johns Hopkins. A joke he told in his international-economics course earlier this year led to complaints by three students that he had created a “hostile learning environment” for them. That’s bad enough, but the university’s overreaction was mind-boggling. Bertrand tells his tale in today’s Martin Center article.


Educators need to walk on eggshells when teaching today’s SJW students. Even fully committed liberals have to worry, since the slightest slip can land them in deep trouble with administrators who are usually as humorless as the kids.

Bertrand concludes, “Our universities have gone badly astray when professors can be yanked out of their classes and denied rudimentary academic due process simply because a student couldn’t take a joke or administrators cannot tolerate criticism of actions that threaten to undermine the idea of a university.”