University academics should grow up...

Found this interesting para in the special commission report on the violence at the Sri Jayawardenapura University:

The university is a community of adults who value the freedom of people to hold diverse views, eschew coercion and oppression, and is committed to the process of knowledge creation. It is a special place that provides the space, time and resources for young people to grow to their full intellectual statute. The academics and students are partners in the education process. Everyone irrespective of rank and seniority is on a "growth curve." In such a context there is a serous problem regarding attitudes when the students are referred to as "children" and the students prefer to be identified as such. There is a tendancy to treat the students as children. In return students also trend to exploit the relationsip by desiring connections that are normally given to adults.

(quoted from: The Report of The Presidential Commission on the violence at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura - December 2003)