Navy Veteran and Yale Student Pens Op-Ed Dispelling College Campus ‘Snowflake’ Narrative

Charlie NashDec 27th, 2019, 10:02 am
 

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After being accepted to Yale as a freshman this year, 52-year-old US Navy veteran James Hatch expected to be swamped by “liberal snowflakes.” In a new article, however, Hatch revealed he hasn’t seen “one kid who fits that description.”

In an article for Medium’s Gen publication, Hatch wrote, “Before I was accepted, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had seen the infamous YouTube video of students screaming at a faculty member… I had also heard the students at Yale referred to as ‘snowflakes’ in various social media dumpsters and occasionally I’d seen references to Ivy League students as snowflakes in a few news sources.”

Hatch quickly discovered though that this was not the case and that each of his classmates were “compelling human[s] who, in spite of their youth, are quite serious about getting things done.”

Hatch had decided to return to education after spending nearly 26 years in the Navy, where he was wounded in combat.

As the oldest student in his class, Hatch detailed how the experience was initially “terrifying” before he quickly got to know his classmates, including one student who expressed excitement working with Hatch because her grandfather, a Yale student-turned-Navy pilot during World War 2, had never been able to finish his education.

The student allegedly remarked, “I feel like I am helping him finish here at Yale and I’m doing it with a veteran, you,” and gave Hatch a photo of her grandfather.

“I was surprised and quite emotional. Exceptionally emotional,” Hatch proclaimed.

In response to friends who have asked Hatch “how are things up there with the liberal snowflakes?” he wrote, “Let me assure you, I have not met one kid who fits that description. None of the kids I’ve met seem to think that they are ‘special’ any more than any other 18–22-year-old. These kids work their assess off.”

“If this place is peopled by ‘snowflakes’ I’m proudly one of them. I’m a snowflake with a purple heart,” the Navy vet concluded.

The powerful article was praised by social media users online.

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