Trigger Warnings: Never Required
It was the first day of the semester and I walked into class to be handed a course schedule with 3 different days highlighted on it. At the top of the page there was a note that explained on the highlighted days we would be covering information that may be upsetting to some students and then my professor proceeded to inform us of his new use of trigger warnings and why he used them. A trigger warning is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “a statement cautioning that content (as in a text, video, or class) may be disturbing or upsetting.” As a college student with anxiety and depression I understand the use of trigger warnings. Trigger warnings should be required on college campuses; the focus of college
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A trigger warning could be used as an excuse instead of a legitimate reason and it would be hard to prove when students aren’t telling the truth. There would have to be a way to implicate some type of rules with these trigger warnings but that would open another debate about how often people could be triggered. Trigger warnings have not always been used on college campuses and some colleges such as University of Chicago do not support the idea of trigger warnings at all …show more content…
Kate Manne, an assistant psychology professors who has been using trigger warnings since she began to lecture agrees that college is time for students to be challenged and that they must “learn to engage rationally with ideas, arguments and views they find difficult, upsetting or even repulsive” but she also claims that that is the reason she uses trigger warnings. Trigger warnings aren’t supposed to discourage students from attending these classes but instead give the students some time to be prepared for the content that is going to gone over especially if it something that has caused them serve trauma in the past instead of it being sprung on them and causing an uncontrollable reaction. The students who need trigger warnings have likely been through a trauma which could cause painful and even terrifying flashbacks but I believe it is the students responsibility to disclose any information that their professor may need to know to make sure their personal learning experience isn’t affected. Every semester a student has a handful professors and a professor has hundreds, maybe even thousands of students and for them to figure out every trigger for every student is
In Kate Manne’s article “Why I Use Trigger Warnings”, she argues that trigger warnings are an important feature to incorporate in an educator’s curriculum, but not as a safety cushion for millennials to fall on to avoid work and serious or uncomfortable topics. Using PTSD studies along with failed tests of exposure therapy for the foundation of her points, she explains that trigger warnings can help mentally prepare a student for what they are about to read instead of blindsiding them and throwing them into a potentially anxiety-induced state where they can’t focus. Manne also brings up how people can react when reading political or religious material in comparison towards reading possibly triggering material in order to differentiate between
First they explain how students have recently started expecting that their professors publish trigger warnings, alerts that students expect with anything that may cause distress, in the name of protecting students who may be reminded of trauma by being exposed to certain topics. While proving the fallacies in the concept of trigger warnings, Lukianoff and Haidt quote Harvard professor, Jeannie Suk 's essay about teaching rape law when students are determined to have protection from unpleasant ideas and demand trigger warnings. She says it is like trying to teach “a medical student who is training to be a surgeon but who fears that he 'll become distressed at the sight of blood (48).” This shows how the students’ desire for protection cause difficulties in teaching for
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
Leo goes on to discuss how this leads to over-sensitivity, severe peer judgement, and even a sensitivity violation. Much of this is written in a sarcastic tone, because the idea of campuses across the country enforcing “sensitivity violations” is a ridiculous statement in itself.
In Roxane Gay 's op-ed, "The Seduction of Safety, on Campus and Beyond", she states, "Rather than use trigger warnings, I try to provide students with the context they will need to engage productively in complicated discussions", and this is exactly what I am talking about. People who understand that freedom of speech does not have to be taken away in order to stop "triggering" people. Communication is key and freedom of speech is our given right that allows us to communicate our thoughts and feelings. When I searched, "safe spaces in universities" on google, all I could find was article after article of people criticizing safe spaces and giving reasons why they should not happen on college campuses. The most used reason, was a reason that Shulevitz used as well, that safe spaces create ignorance in the growing teenager and become problematic. While this may be true, I feel I should of found more articles like Gay 's, emphasizing with victims and understanding the need for safety sometimes, but without ignorance. The world is scary, hurtful, and breaks you as you grow older. Safe spaces are needed for comfort, they can bring peace, and give someone a person who understands. It 's wrong to put college students behind a door and shut them in so they are not "triggered" by someone 's opinion, but it 's also wrong to not acknowledge that sometimes, people just need to take a break from all the speech in the world and re-cope themselves to
Counselors may want to reduce students’ stress, but a blanket ban is not the solution. Students are often well aware of
Although trigger warnings sound like a harmless idea to many, there is an extreme controversy about whether or not they should be used in college lectures. Many college professors have conflicting views about trigger warnings; some agree on using them while others are against it. This debate topic is particularly intriguing in Kate Manne’s article in the New York Times titled, “Why I Use Trigger
Secondly, some people believe guns should not be allowed on campus because they may go off by accident. True, a gun may go off by accident, but according to, Students for Concealed Carry, out of 150 college campuses that allow concealed carry, there have been only three accidental discharges (Common). Two of them were by staff and one by a student. All three of the accidental discharges resulted in non-life-threatening discharges in which no one was injured (Common). All three incidents could have been prevented through proper training and practice, such as wearing a
Students and faculty fear veterans because they have associated PTSD with danger. Therefore, veterans are viewed as a threat on campus. Palm denotes this by stating, “...the great majority of PTSD sufferers are not disruptive or violent and should not be viewed as such until or unless they provide reasonable cause.” (pg.792) Palm also makes a great point in proving the fear of veterans is absolutely ridiculous.
The authors of “Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, use ethos, logos, and pathos convey their negative stance regarding trigger warnings and the effect they on education. Lukianoff and Haidt’s use of rhetorical appeal throughout the article adds to the author’s credibility and the strength of the argument against increasing the use of trigger warnings in school material. The authors, Lukianoff and Haidt, rely heavily upon the use of logos, such as relations between conflicts surrounding trigger warnings and other historical conflicts impacting student ethics. Examples of the use of these logical appeals are the relation between the Columbine Massacre and the younger generations ideology. The author goes on to mention other societal turning points such
There are very few people today who are unaware of the violence in schools. As college students we live in a world that is desperate to find prevention methods against violence. That makes this issue important to today's college students, considering the fact that we are the generation that could have been involved and directly effected by a school shooting like Columbine. Is this how we want our school systems to be when our children enroll?
Which include danger to the school or any of the students and this should be the only way teachers and schools can restrict students’ rights. but schools tend to go too far restricting students’ rights “The principal had ordered the stories removed from the paper because he believed the story about teen pregnancy was inappropriate for some of the younger students at the school, based on its discussion of sexual activity and birth control”(What are the free expression rights of students in public schools under the First Amendment?) a student though that this was appropriate for the school to read and it was but the officials at the school did not think the same way. also another case Bazaar v. Fortune officials tried to stop publication of a book just because it had a few words in it that they did not like.(The First Amendment and Public Schools) this is taking there restrictions just too far. The government should be able to set guidelines of what the immediate danger is and what kind of expression goes way too far and have it sent out to all the schools in the United States. This might help schools from restricting our
...ink that I will ever work in the field, I think these skills are beneficial within the field of psychology. In working with patients in the future, I will remember to explore all areas of their lives and do my best to not stereotype a person with mental illness. Lastly, I will use the information on warning behaviors to assess whether or not one of my patients intends on hurting others with mass violence or violence in general. I think this is the most important thing that I could take away from this experience due to the fact that research has shown that third-parties are often aware of such warning behaviors but never voice their concerns to the police. Going forward, I will definitely voice my concerns through the proper channels should I ever encounter someone that seems intent on committing any act of violence (i.e. school related, domestic, or otherwise).
The aforementioned are example of student trauma, that can lead to further bad behavior and many harshly repeated reprimands targeted toward so-called problem students, for minor infractions that use mean a visit to the principal’s office or staying after
In most campuses, speech codes are enforced. Students can get into trouble for what they say, what they post on Facebook, and even what they wear. Schools like Colorado College won’t allow embarrassing statements to be said about other students. Certain jokes or “inappropriate e-mails” are banned, and at times, the area where students are allowed to express themselves amount to a miniscule free speech zone, such as in the University of Cincinnati. Davidson College even prohibits students from asking other students out on dates. (“What Every Student Should ...