Youth Taught To Be 'Self-Absorbed,' Oklahoma Wesleyan President Says

An Oklahoma university president is telling students to “grow up,” and his message is spreading across the country. He said it's because people are tired of political correctness.

It was a sermon on love, at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, that caused a student to speak up, saying he or she felt victimized, guilty for not showing love.

The university’s president, Everett Piper, responded, and it’s since gone viral.

"We literally have taught this generation of young people to be self-absorbed," Piper said.

In his blog post, the Oklahoma Wesleyan University president tells students to “grow up,” saying, "This is not a daycare. This is a university!"

Read The Blog Post

"I think our generation is more focused on themselves than about thinking of other people," said OKWU freshman, Antonio Lares.

Piper said, "If you want to be coddled, rather than confronted, this is the wrong place. We're not going to coddle you in your selfishness."

He wrote the post after a student complained he felt offended by a sermon on 1 Corinthians 13, writing, "Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them ‘feel bad’ about themselves, is a 'hater,' a 'bigot,' an 'oppressor.'"

11/30/2015 Related Story: 'Grow Up!' Oklahoma Wesleyan University President Strikes Chord With Blog

His harsh words aren't for students, but academics.

Piper said universities are to blame for teaching victimization, telling students the problem is someone else's - the 1 percent or the 99 percent.

"That's what's wrong with our country. It's your fault. And there's no inclination, or, at least little inclination, to focus on yourself," he said.

In the post, Piper references other universities, "in Missouri and elsewhere" that allow students to be enabled.

He wouldn't say whether that reference was Mizzou, during recent student protests in response to racial issues at the school.

Piper is now challenging universities to recognize the value of preaching selflessness.

"We've taught our students, our young people, to throw the victim card," he said.

Students we spoke with said they aren't offended by the blog post, many haven't even read it.