University of Chicago on Trigger Warnings

[Anonymous]

The UofC sent a letter to its incoming first-years clarifying the College's stance against trigger warnings and intellectual safe spaces. Read the letter here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/25/dont-ask-us-for-trigger-warnings-or-safe-spaces-the-university-of-chicago-tells-freshmen/

FWIW, I'm a professor in the humanities, politically very liberal, and I am glad that the UofC is taking this stance. (Yes, I would not only support Donald Trump coming to speak to my university, but I would encourage all my students to listen to him speak with an open, yet critical, mind. I would also encourage them to ask challenging questions if such an opportunity arose.) I firmly believe that all students ought to be exposed to different ideas and perspectives and learn to engage in civil discourse with people who hold those views and have had different life experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The UofC sent a letter to its incoming first-years clarifying the College's stance against trigger warnings and intellectual safe spaces. Read the letter here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/25/dont-ask-us-for-trigger-warnings-or-safe-spaces-the-university-of-chicago-tells-freshmen/

FWIW, I'm a professor in the humanities, politically very liberal, and I am glad that the UofC is taking this stance. (Yes, I would not only support Donald Trump coming to speak to my university, but I would encourage all my students to listen to him speak with an open, yet critical, mind. I would also encourage them to ask challenging questions if such an opportunity arose.) I firmly believe that all students ought to be exposed to different ideas and perspectives and learn to engage in civil discourse with people who hold those views and have had different life experiences.

Hallelujah!

[Anonymous]

Great for you prof

Serious question what do you do when BLM or some other organization comes in and demands actions

[Anonymous]

Obviously your not a "real" lib! You are a scurrilous traitor!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great for you prof

Serious question what do you do when BLM or some other organization comes in and demands actions

Of course, BLM supporters are free to protest (non-violently). They are an important part of the larger discourse. But shutting down opposing views is effectively preventing accurate analysis (and potential solutions) to the problem of race, violence, and the police.

[Anonymous]

Sad that it needed to be said, but good for the school for saying it.

[Anonymous]

Hundreds of zombie-like Democrats will now converge on UoC moaning "triggered, feelbad" and will demand retraction, apologies, safe spaces.

[Anonymous]

How does this work fairly for actual victims of rape or military vets or gays who have PTSD from actual trauma? Is it not fair to afford them a trigger warning for material that may indeed trigger a PTSD episode?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does this work fairly for actual victims of rape or military vets or gays who have PTSD from actual trauma? Is it not fair to afford them a trigger warning for material that may indeed trigger a PTSD episode?

Don't people with PTSD need psychiatric treatment, not trigger warnings? I don't understand how you can be in college and study literature or history or (insert probably many different disciplines here) and not be exposed to some pretty dreadful stuff. I don't have PTSD but I majored in Russian and couldn't eat or sleep for three days after I read book I of the Gulag Archipelago. If I HAD PTSD...what would a trigger warning have done? It's not like there's an alternate reading you can do if you're studying 20th century Soviet history, that lets you avoid hearing about the sick shit they did to political prisoners. I just don't get what trigger warnings are supposed to do in the classroom. If you're so emotionally fragile that you can't read a book or participate in a seminar or listen to a lecture, you need treatment. You can't handle college, which is already a pretty "safe space" compared to the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does this work fairly for actual victims of rape or military vets or gays who have PTSD from actual trauma? Is it not fair to afford them a trigger warning for material that may indeed trigger a PTSD episode?

This post just triggered an episode, for someone somewhere.

How did you prevent it? How did you alert us?

[Anonymous]

Well said OP. I wish everyone was as open to learning as you are. Thank you for teaching our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does this work fairly for actual victims of rape or military vets or gays who have PTSD from actual trauma? Is it not fair to afford them a trigger warning for material that may indeed trigger a PTSD episode?

Don't people with PTSD need psychiatric treatment, not trigger warnings? I don't understand how you can be in college and study literature or history or (insert probably many different disciplines here) and not be exposed to some pretty dreadful stuff. I don't have PTSD but I majored in Russian and couldn't eat or sleep for three days after I read book I of the Gulag Archipelago. If I HAD PTSD...what would a trigger warning have done? It's not like there's an alternate reading you can do if you're studying 20th century Soviet history, that lets you avoid hearing about the sick shit they did to political prisoners. I just don't get what trigger warnings are supposed to do in the classroom. If you're so emotionally fragile that you can't read a book or participate in a seminar or listen to a lecture, you need treatment. You can't handle college, which is already a pretty "safe space" compared to the real world.

+1

[Anonymous]

Great job by this university. More should make this explicit

Students and professors should be free to discuss topics like how the Niqab oppresses women without being Called racist and all discussion eliminated

People need to express ideas and debate Not simply call each other names or ban responses.

A fundamental values to western civilization

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The UofC sent a letter to its incoming first-years clarifying the College's stance against trigger warnings and intellectual safe spaces. Read the letter here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/25/dont-ask-us-for-trigger-warnings-or-safe-spaces-the-university-of-chicago-tells-freshmen/

FWIW, I'm a professor in the humanities, politically very liberal, and I am glad that the UofC is taking this stance. (Yes, I would not only support Donald Trump coming to speak to my university, but I would encourage all my students to listen to him speak with an open, yet critical, mind. I would also encourage them to ask challenging questions if such an opportunity arose.) I firmly believe that all students ought to be exposed to different ideas and perspectives and learn to engage in civil discourse with people who hold those views and have had different life experiences.

I wish I had you as a prof back in the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hundreds of zombie-like Democrats will now converge on UoC moaning "triggered, feelbad" and will demand retraction, apologies, safe spaces.

I'm a liberal Democrat and I agree with this policy 100% So shut your piehole