Yes. I think he was afraid of saying the wrong thing, being quoted out of context, and being canceled (or some other bad consequence). Yes.

Or, better, he may have been worried that one of the many faculty teaching that course would say the wrong thing, etc. Then he’d have to manage a problem, so he’d have to talk to students, the faculty member in question, and maybe even develop guidelines for talking about race or other hot topics in the classroom.

I’m sure he could see those problems coming. I don’t like problems either. And yes, it is scary, and there are puritanical mobs.

But, given the 6 figure salary that came with his position, I don’t think it was asking too much of him to come up with guidelines for talking about race. He could spend a few hours researching best practices for talking about race. Or, if he really, honestly decided that there were other topics more deserving of class time and attention, he could explain that as well.

I think he was avoiding something uncomfortable rather than researching the hell out of it. He’s capable of the research. He can be a thoughtful person. I don’t think he was doing his best that day.