It was just a joke, but leave it to the PC crowd to cry about it being “too mean”.
I didn't read it as a joke and I've never experienced it as as joke.
One of the eye opening experiences for me when I retired from the Army was how militarized I had become in relation to the civilan community. I had no idea until I was out in the “real world” that such a thing existed. It may be the class president is now finding the same situation confronts him. You have to adapt back to the civilian world and it isnt always easy.