University of Kansas assistant professor Andrea Quenette found herself the latest victim of the extreme political correctness that is sweeping American colleges.

Last November, Quenette was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the college into her use of an racial slur and alleged "discrimination" in her class dealing with diversity in the classroom. Quenette reportedly used the offending word, which wasn't specifically identified in reports, as an example of a slur.

Even after being cleared by the university in mid-March following the investigation, she was still not allowed to return to campus until this past Friday, at which point she was notified that she would be terminated from her position at the university at the end of the 2017 spring semester

The University of Kansas cited several reasons for this action, mostly relating to student concerns about her alleged racist remarks and accusations of discrimination, which she had been cleared of, along with concerns about her lack of research during the 2016 spring semester.

This last remark seems moot, since she hadn't been allowed back on campus in order to complete the research she had planned this past semester.

It's clear, both to Quenette and others, that the university did not ask her to leave due to her lack of teaching ability, but rather because of the extreme politically correct fever that has been sweeping our nation. Last November, the assistant vice president of Claremont McKenna College, Mary Spellman, was forced to step down after accidentally offending the Latino community with a poorly-worded email.

That same month, students at Princeton University called for the removal of all references to 13th president of the college and 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, because he had been an advocate for segregation. Students said they believed Wilson's legacy still tarnished the college.

Even more recently, John McAdams, a professor at Marquette University and a personal conservative blogger, was told that he was suspended without pay until he apologized for a blog post expressing his own personal views in defense of a student who had advocated for traditional marriage.

In each of these cases, colleges are trying to protect their oversensitive students from viewpoints different from their own. If Quenette had used the racial slur toward a student instead of merely using the word as an example of a slur, the college would be justified. If Woodrow Wilson or McAdams were actively preaching their ideas and forcing students to adopt their views, then the college and the students would have the right to stop them from doing so. But this is not the case.

The students at these colleges seem to be looking for any chance to get offended and use their wrath to erase all things that could ever possibly cause discomfort. In response, college faculty and boards are afraid and willing to help them out in this pursuit.

It's true that words do hurt and there are scary ideas. But the way to deal with them is to not lock them in a closet and keep them out of sight as if that will solve the issues. Banning the use of racist words will not stop a racist mindset, but that hasn't stopped society from trying. In the pursuit to create a world without hatred or inequality, blameless victims are being hurt because of slips of the tongue or for expressing views that others don't know how to respond to or properly argue against.

The extreme political correctness is a malady with disastrous results, which makes it all the more terrifying.