I have been thinking about the how colleges and universities, under the consumer-model of higher education, increasingly encourage faculty to
cuddle the students, especially the so-called top students, a great deal
over the last few decade. Is that good for the students? Do we, can we, really
respect those we cuddle, that is, those we treat as children? I know, some the faculty and administrators refer to the students as “colleagues,” which
could be viewed as taking the students seriously. However, no one
really thinks of undergraduate students, or even most graduate and professional school students, as colleagues. And calling the students
“colleagues” is but another form of cuddling.
