Should we use
trigger warnings to protect students on college campus? In an interview with Ayna Kamenetz on NPR’s
All Things Considered, she spoke about the original term. According to
Kamenetz, “it comes from the psychology of
posttraumatic stress disorder. So individuals who have been through for example
sexual assault or combat - they may have outsized emotional responses to
potentially harmless words or images and that might be up to and including a
panic attack.” These trigger warnings are used to alarm a student that
there may be sensitive material covered in class. NPR Ed, in a 2015 survey,
polled 800 faculty members and half of them used trigger warning in their
class. Are these warnings necessary? While I do not believe so, they also are
not harmful and can help mentally prepare someone for the course. In their
survey, they also found only 3.4% of students had requested trigger warnings.
The benefits of trigger warnings seem logical and harmless from this
perspective, but seems to be getting out of hand. One example of a book that people
call for trigger warnings in is, The Great Gatsby, for domestic abuse and
racially motivated violence.(Waldman) If this can happen to such great literary
work, where might this end?
This may seem
like a small issue to some, but I think it leads to problems in our thinking.
If we are trying to constantly remain aware of our speech in fear of triggering
another, you are less likely to freely express yourself. We need to look at
each case and find the correct action before trigger warnings and words allow
people to dictate conversation. Oxford professor Timothy Ash and former director
of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald wrote, “Free speech is the lifeblood of a university,” it begins, going
on to observe that “inevitably, this will mean that members of the university
are confronted with views that some find unsettling, extreme or offensive. The
university must therefore foster freedom of expression within a framework of
robust civility.” I would not be upset
if a professor included trigger warnings, believing students should react like
adults with the knowledge given.
"Half
Of Professors In NPR Ed Survey Have Used 'Trigger Warnings'." All
Things Considered, 7 Sept. 2016. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,
frccwc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A463246826/OVIC?u=west59484&xid=f2995e4d.
Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.
Ash, Timothy Garton. "Safe spaces are not the
only threat to free speech | Timothy Garton Ash." The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 16 Sept. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
Waldman, Katy. "The Campus Debate Over Trigger
Warnings Is at an Impasse. Science Can Help." Slate Magazine. N.p., 05
Sept. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
Nelly, Keith. N.d. N.p. NPR
Hello Patrick,
ReplyDeleteI love reading about your freedom of speech on college campuses. I am wondering a little more on these trigger warnings. I understood the PTSD but was a little curious on what you mean by trigger warnings. I do agree with the feeling like we can't freely express selfs because we feel like we might set someone off and create an unsafe environment for ourselves. I agree a campus should have freedom of speech, but I don't believe it can be possible with how many people get offended by what other people believe in. For example, I took a sociology class, and in that class, we had talked about a lot of diversity and different cultures and their social norms, but some students would get upset with the teacher who was teaching us what the book said and made a big deal out of it. A teacher should not have to fear to teach a class due to it upsetting students. I like where your blog has gone, and I look forward to reading your 5th blog entry to see how you sum it all up. I believe this is an issue that needs to be discussed, and I thank you for doing so.
Hello Patrick,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed keeping up with your blog posts. This one about trigger warnings grabbed my attention, and I want to learn more about it. I agree with providing trigger warnings because of the work I do helping victims of abuse. Unfortunately, the problem of abuse is getting worse, and not better. Do you think this is part of what’s motivating faculty members to include trigger warnings? I am curious how they go about implementing this? Is it more like a disclaimer stating the subject matter covered in the class is going to be such, and such? Is it included in the course description, or are professors required to give the trigger warning at the beginning of every class? I think putting it in the course description would be sufficient. Maybe reiterate it on the first day of class just in case students don’t remember reading everything contained in the course description. Finally, I agree with the quote you included that “Free speech is the lifeblood of a university.”