The article did not indicate the reader had to explain the sentence. The sentence was to be read. Don’t go making excuses for students being idiots.
You don’t have to go far to find evidence that many students today are poorly educated. Just watch some videos on Youtube channels like Prager U, Liberty Hangout or Mark Dice (Q: What year did Karl Marx, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth sign the Declaration of Independence? A: 1492).