This article explores the increasing hypersensitivity of college students. Universities are protecting students against uncomfortable ideas, which leads to vindictive protectiveness; vindictive protectiveness can encourage more hostile and violent responses to various microaggressions. Furthermore, social media has led to an increasing amount of vindictive protectiveness, since students are coming together on a global scale to campaign more easily. Combined together, these negative thoughts against different viewpoints discourages critical thing. As a result, this is weakening American democracy and the workforce because it does not prepare students to succeed in a world full of diverse viewpoints. Moreover, cognitive behavior therapy is a
College is full of new experiences, new people, and new communities, and many universities encourage the exchange of new ideas and diversity among students. This year, the University of Chicago sent out a letter to all of its incoming freshmen informing them that in keeping with their beliefs of freedom of expression and healthy discussion and debate, the school would not provide “safe spaces” or “trigger warnings”. Senior Sophie Downes found this letter to be misleading in many ways, including in the definitions of safe spaces and trigger warnings, as well as the issues it was addressing. Downes claims that the letter was misrepresenting the school, but also was using the letter as a sort
In her op-ed, "In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas", Shulevitz discusses the idea behind freedom of speech on college campuses and how safe spaces are snuffing it out. Shulevitz uses multiple examples of problems that have arisen because of safe spaces at universities such as Brown University, Columbia University, and Oxford 's University 's Christ Church college. Debate cancellations, essay opinions that caused protest, and other situations involving freedom of speech that Shulevitz uses to back up her opinion that safe spaces are nothing but harm to college campuses. According to Shulevitz Op-ed, safe spaces are nothing but an incubator that grows a festering amount of weak individuals who are destroying their social skills and developing
In the editorial “Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt examine the political correctness on college campuses and how it may be hurting students’ mental health. They explain by allowing campuses to discuss words, ideas, and subjects that can cause discomfort or give offense can provide positive attributes like helping students to produce better arguments and more productive discussions over differences. Does Lukianoff and Haidt provide sufficient evidence about how college campuses should raise attention about the need to balance freedom of speech to help students in their future and education to lead the reader to agree with their argument? The answer is yes,
It is probable that the administration in taking away the student’s political frontline were only aiming to subdue the civil rights movement. However the effect of banning everyone from speaking their mind had an effect unforeseen by those in charge. Students from all backgrounds and schools of political thought were united; students that under any other circumstance never would have come together. This is what made the free-speech movement unique; it was a merger of forces across the political front, only possible because the matters at stake transcended political orientation.
Toronto, Ontario — On September 27th, tenured University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson released the first video in a three-part series on the subject of “political correctness”. In said video, he addressed his refusal to respect the pronouns of non-binary gender identities, which would include his own students. Further, questioned the work and legitimacy of the Black Liberation Collective, a group of students who initiated the University’s commitment to administering mandatory equity training and collecting race-based data.
An industry that once promoted fairness and attainability was now itself becoming an obstacle to overcome. “American universities are in fact organized according to middle- and upper-class cultural norms or rules of the game and that these norms do indeed constitute an unseen academic disadvantage for first-generation college students transitioning to university settings” (Stephens et. al, 2012). This proposed characteristic serves as an almost uncontrollable and unchangeable disadvantage that students will likely fail to subdue. Institutions should serve as mediating platforms that allow students to start at impartial grounds, where their talents, abilities and connections are the only factors that can influence their
Sean Blanda’s, “The Other Side Is Not Dumb”, uses cultural examples concerning the younger American generation involving, the medias influence and peer pressure vs the actual facts and proof, involved while forming a personal opinion. The author emphasizes how the effects of pressure from our surroundings, such as: friends, media, and more, adjust our view of political and social subjects. He includes multiple cases of where your own ignorance can hinder your learning and interaction with others. If you continue to have a negative outlook on people who disagree with you, you’ll never be able to consider yourself a curious person and participate in social media. “We cannot consider ourselves “empathetic” only to turn around and belittle those that don’t agree with us.”- Mr. Blanda
The nature of the arguments offered against these dissenting voices are very troubling; so too their political effects. The arguments fall into two groups. First, professors are charged with showing no concern for the feeling of others: they lack taste and judgment; they are insensitive, self-indulgent and offend others at a time when emotions are raw. In being so inattentive to their students' emotional sensitivities, dissenting faculty violate the trust students place in them. Now is not the time for critique, but for emotional nurturing, reassurance and national solidarity.
The reading for this week that I thought was very interesting was “The Coddling of the American Mind.” I thought this article was interesting because I did not realize this type of issue was happening at certain universities and colleges. I think that it is crazy how students at these universities will not take certain classes or will ask their professors to not talk about certain issues in class because they are offended by it or feel uncomfortable talking about it. College is supposed to be the time that allows us to be open and express our opinions. We should be able to talk about issues like racism and same sex marriage without being offended. People may not agree with your opinion, but we should not stop talking about those issues because
Welcome to the University of Sheltering Students, where the cost is high, and the education is low. It is where life is taught through a textbook, but is not actually taught at all. Some universities in the 21st century are being forced to rid the campuses of words, ideas, and subjects that might create tension, discomfort, or offense to the students that pay to learn there. Twenty-first century students are beginning to become a more sheltered society, where an uncovered truth is difficult to come by. University education explains the basics of school; such as the Periodic Table, how to write an essay, and how letters magically appear in math equations. Conversely, it does not even touch upon any subject that could be deemed “controversial”;
College is often said to be the time to be whoever you want to be. However, when a student feels they need to make the choice to cover, they lose the opportunity to be themselves and learn more about their community. Covering is a person or group’s acts of censoring portions of their identity viewed as disadvantageous in an attempt to assimilate. Judicial and societal unwillingness to provide protection for marginalized communities furthers encouragement for individuals to cover. While some civil rights activists intertwine protective legislation with equality, requirements for covering in college settings shows a lack of equality and the need for creating a model of acceptance, an opportunity to further equality throughout the world.
The Universities have deemed that individuals cannot protect themselves and judge speech. A study by The Fire.org that surveyed 461 colleges stated that “140 of them — 30 percent — have some form of bias response team. Bias response teams appear to be particularly popular with private universities: of the 104 private institutions surveyed, fifty-three of them — 51 percent — have a bias response team”(“Spotlight On Speech Codes 2018”). This data shows people’s rights are being protected, but the classrooms of today have become padded rooms where the same thoughts are repeated innocently and rarely are challenge. In this time of pain and instability our society has grown to be more accepting and understanding. Now with equality for all hate has become more common place so we have time to worry for these social issues. In schools, today that are bastions of debate can become bastions of hate “Racist, sexist and homophobic incidents do not only occur at conservative military academy’s such as the Citadel, and they have not been abated despite the volumes of scholarships in recent years. In mid- December 1994 at the University of California at Berkeley Boalt school of Law, anonyms flyers making derogatory racial reference were distributed”(Ma 694). By enacting this hate people respond negatively to this speech compounded with Milo and his
” The world doesn’t care about your feelings or beliefs, people think they are right no matter what and students will have to face hateful, discriminating, sexual words no matter where they go. So, college is there to prepare them, by helping them develop their beliefs and opinions on topics, not censoring them. Trigger warnings cause the student’s to have thin skin and “could theoretically lead to discrimination in the job market, with young people passed over in favor of (perceived tougher older people). (Whitley 2)” Isn’t discrimination what society is trying to prevent. If trigger warnings become implemented at a young age, they will grow up to think with their emotions causing them to have thin skin and not be able to handle certain situations that could arise in the workforce. Which could cause some to be unemployed and to still have a huge load of college debt.
Benjamin Franklin defines the word Sincerity as, “Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly”. At Porter Gaud I sometimes find myself and others lacking this virtue. As a school who attempts to embody diversity, we seem to lack sincerity. Conforming to others beliefs and ideas, simply so I am not left out of the conversation has become more and more an everyday experience. It is no secret that in this community I and others have experienced anti-Semitism and discrimination, ranging from hateful jokes, un acceptable comments and even ignorant stereotypes. During the past election these issues becoming amplified, ranging from social media incidents to simple classroom chatter. I can account many
The debate on race relations in the United States has been a topic for hundreds of years and it has still not come to a close. From Slavery and Segregation to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Discrimination continues to tarnish society. On college campuses minorities such as African- American, Hispanic, and Asian have been sorely underrepresented;