Quoted: James Hatch

Pat Eaton Robb

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“Being uncomfortable is key in this world of ours. Not altogether different from the world of special operations, where the work needs to be done, regardless of weather or personal feelings.

“The climate in this educational institution [Yale] is one where most students understand that there has to be a place where people can assault ideas openly and discuss them vigorously and respectfully in order to improve the state of humanity. I’ll call that a ‘safe space’ and I’m glad those places exist.”

—James Hatch ’23, in an essay called “My Semester with the Snowflakes,” published at Medium.com on December 21. Hatch, a 52-year-old former Navy SEAL and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, is in his first year in Yale College as an Eli Whitney Student.