from http://yalecollege.yale.edu/campus-life/residential-colleges
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The master is the chief administrative officer and the presiding faculty presence in each residential college. He or she is responsible for the physical well being and safety of students in the residential college, as well as for fostering and shaping the social, cultural, and educational life and character of the college. During the year, he or she hosts lectures, study breaks (especially during finals), and Master’s Teas—intimate gatherings during which students have the opportunity to engage with renowned guests from the academy, government, or popular culture.
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while the house masters are supposed to be responsible for the safety/well-being of the students, they are clearly also supposed to be involved in their academic/intellectual/personal development. they're not just some foster parents who took in a bunch of 18 year olds.

if a professor starting discourse at a university about a relatively benign topic is enough to trigger a student into skipping classes/meals, losing sleep, and having breakdowns, that student probably shouldn't be attending a university. especially if the premise of the professor's e-mail was that administrators should trust the students to self-censure and govern among themselves what is appropriate rather than having rules dictated to them from above