In Florida, a college canceled a concert by the King’s Singers, two hours before the concert was to begin. Is this an expression of “cancel culture”? Of institutional autonomy? Of several things? I lead my Impromptus today with this issue. See what you think.

Now, some reader mail. Responding to an item in my column yesterday, a reader writes,

Good morning, Jay,

When I read your “Splitsville” post this morning, I had the usual enjoyment. . . .

But what caused me to miss my mouth with my coffee cup — what elicited an emphatic “Amen!” that those in my Southern Baptist childhood church would have appreciated — was the following sentence: “And everywhere I go now, I see smoke shops. Head shops. Weed shops.”

It makes me crazy. The loss of motivation, potential, ambition, brain cells — the risk of psychosis . . . I hurt for those young men and for the lost time and relationships that would bring their life so much more joy and depth. . . .

To end on a lighter note, a brief story:

In 2018, I started working at the D.C. VA hospital. For the first time in my life, I regularly used public transportation, mostly the Metro. The stop where I caught the afternoon train was near Catholic University. As I was standing there with a colleague one day, I commented on how many skunks must get killed on the tracks because it smelled so bad. He couldn’t stop laughing. Turned out it was not dead skunks I smelled, just weed.

My younger son still teases me about it.

Writes another reader,

“And everywhere I go now, I see smoke shops. Head shops. Weed shops. Whatever you want to call them.”

My dear Jay, you must know by now that they are “cannabis dispensaries” or perhaps “wellness centers.” My wife’s family is near Great Barrington, Mass., in the Berkshires, and there’s some sort of cannabis emporium seemingly on every corner.

One advertises a “cannabis tasting room,” which makes even my cannabis-enthusiast friends shake their heads. Do you go in, get baked, and then have a lie-down before getting baked again on some other variety? Honestly, it is mind-boggling, even up to the “premium cannabis” signs. One wouldn’t want the riff-raff of pot sneaking in, don’t you know.

A different reader, on a different subject, also from yesterday’s column:

I was interested in your thoughts on the value of a college education. I’m a retired business exec now teaching at an elite university . . .

While I agree with the goals of a liberal-arts education, I think the execution is terrible. Most professors at the top universities are there to do research, and most, though not all, teach only because they have to. This is especially true of undergrad classes, where the professors know that not many students have a deep interest in the subject matter. They enjoy teaching grad students, who share their interest in academia. The undergrads, by contrast, will be off to some high-paying corporate job.

It becomes very much like the old Communist worker who says, “They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work.” “They pretend to teach and we pretend to learn.” . . .

With grade inflation running rampant, the students just figure out the intersection between least amount of work and highest possible grade. Everyone winks at each other, because they all get what they want — no one working hard but everyone enjoying a status that furthers their careers. . . .

Very sad.

Finally,

Jay,

I was amused by your reader who said, “You cannot bless the Sun Devils and the Wildcats in the same sentence.” [Those are people from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, respectively.] I imagine most states, at least the larger ones, have similar rivalries. Here in Texas it’s the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. One of the funniest things I have seen while driving was a yard flag. It said “A House Divided” and was split diagonally. One side was UT burnt orange with appropriate logo, and the other was Texas A&M maroon with appropriate logo. It really wasn’t fair to make me laugh that much while driving.

Thank you to one and all — Sun Devils, Wildcats, Longhorns, Aggies . . . All y’all.