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IMO everyone gets this story wrong.

All of the activities that Penn State's Outing Club used to organize are still available to students through the university-run Outdoor Adventure program [1].

The only difference is that now instead of a student club (cost center), the activities are organized by a university-run office (revenue generator).

So it's not about coddling. It's about money (and not even insurance)

[1] http://sites.psu.edu/adventurerec/

To be fair, it's a New York Times story because it's so unusual and bizarre. (And the fact that it's happening at a school known for its Big Ten football team makes it even more so.) I can pretty much guarantee that this would be pretty much unheard of with the outing clubs where I attended school. One of those schools even has a freshman (outdoor) trip enshrined in its freshman orientation before classes.

It's college. It's basically senior boarding school that is "cool", in contrast with non-senior boarding school, which is "lame".