Good for them. I think these campus protests have gotten way out of hand. There are ways to disagree without being so disruptive and disrespectful. And even those who disagree with controversial or polarizing speakers may want to hear what they are saying.
As far as the trigger warnings go, is it so hard to find classes that don’t deal with material like that, for students who have such a severe reaction to that content? There are a lot of things you can study in college. And how is the professor supposed to know what triggers people might have? What if they flag the rapes but neglect to flag the bomb explosions?
Did any other first year receive a letter from the Dean of Students in The College about trigger warnings? Does it not make you love this university even more?
The University of Chicago, one of America’s most prestigious and selective universities, is warning incoming students starting this fall not to expect safe spaces and a trigger-free existence during their four-year journey through academia.
In a letter sent to the class of 2020, university officials said one of the defining characteristics of the school was its unwavering commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression. Civility and mutual respect are vital to the campus culture, the letter states, but not at the expense of shielding students from unpopular opinions or ideas.
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called “trigger warnings,” we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual “safe spaces” where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own,” the letter states.
The University of Chicago is consistently ranked one of the top universities in the world, and also one of the most selective. Only about 8 percent of the more than 31,000 people who applied to enter the class of 2020 were accepted by the school.
The warning from Chicago stands in sharp contrast to many other American universities that have gone out of their way to coddle students by protecting them from ideas they may find offensive or disturbing.
The University of Chicago is having none of it. To drive home the point, the letter to students includes a link to a report on freedom of expression issued by the university in January 2015. The report quotes a former president of the University, Hanna Holborn Gray, as saying that “education should not be intended to make people comfortable, it is meant to make them think.
Moderator’s note: I have merged several threads that are based on the letter sent to University of Chicago’s freshmen students. Apologize if the posts look disjointed.
Younger adults tend to be more sensitive than older adults: maybe it’s simply that we become tougher, more hardened as we age and experience life’s challenges.
So as we age, we look at kids and view them as immature/weak/sensitive… without realizing that, relative to our current state, we were once that way too.
@awcntdb: Fair enough, that I have no hard, quantitative evidence that it’s only a small minority of students who make up the widely-publicized cases of students being “oversensitive” (however that’s defined) and demanding “safe spaces” and such.
However, I do have nearly 20 years experience as a professor at a range of institutions (large private, large public, medium-to-small public), and the vast majority of my students are primarily worried about making sure they can afford school and are passing their classes. Yes, some are vocal in not wanting to deal with positions they don’t agree with, but those are such a small minority as to be effectively nonexistent, except for the occasional case where the news media decides to sink their teeth into it.
This is admittedly anecdotal evidence, but I do have a professional network of quite literally hundreds of other current and former college faculty, and this is something that comes up in conversation now and again—and every. single. one. of. them. has the same experience as I have, in terms of how frequently students with such attitudes appear.
And even in the couple of cases where colleagues of mine have found themselves in situations where the situation has blown up into a media circus, the report has been that a majority of the students near the situation were supportive of open dialogue about whatever sort of ideas needed to be discussed.
So yes, it’s true, I can’t prove my position beyond a reasonable doubt, and I certainly can’t do so in any meaningfully way quantitatively. However, based on a rather large amount of qualitative evidence, I have to say that I really do believe that I am correct based on a preponderance of the evidence. I mean, really, what evidence might you have that students today are more thin-skinned than they used to be, aside from things that can be explained simply by the additional potential for publicity that stems from the modern 24-hour news cycle?
"I mean, really, what evidence might you have that students today are more thin-skinned than they used to be, aside from things that can be explained simply by the additional potential for publicity that stems from the modern 24-hour news cycle? "
I totally agree with this.
Common now, how many of us would have even HEARD of such as thing as “trigger warnings” 20- 30 years ago? Did some college students feel offended or enraged at the beliefs of other students? Sure they did. But it was NOT reported by National NEWS outlets.
But now we ALL hear about these issues because today it IS all about the media jumping on what ever gets ANYONE riled up, in an effort to be “first to a story”, and regardless of the story’s value or relevancy. .
I never understood the “well, it is just that the media blows thinigs out of proportion” argument. Yes, I agree that the media often sensationalizes things for their own benefit. But the media is not creating this issue out of whole cloth.
At the end of the day, there are repeated and consistent recorded instances of some sub set of college students/protestors who seek to violently and loudly shut down opposing viewpoints. These things are actually happening, regardless of an individual’s opinon on whether they should be covered in the newspaper. There are also schools which provide “safe spaces” with puppies and play doh on the off chance that some kid is exposed to an idea they don’t like. Again, whether you think Fox or the NYT should report on the existence of such is not the same as saying that what is happening on campus today is the same as it has always been.
". There are also schools which provide “safe spaces” with puppies and play doh on the off chance that some kid is exposed to an idea they don’t like. "
Source? I’ve only seen such programs offered as stress relief (such as around finals). Not as “safe spaces” from uncomfortable ideas. Big difference.
I find it difficult to reconcile the disconnect between what @dfbdfb said, with the fact that a number of university leaders who have lost their jobs over the last couple of years due to student protests. I don’t doubt dfbdfb accurately wrote what he (she?) sees, but I just can’t reconcile this in my head.
@hebegebe If you look closely at the “number of university leaders [who] have lost their jobs over the last couple of years due to student protests” you will find that these leaders were involved in serious allegations and not, as you imply, politically incorrect brouhahas.
Contrary to what many believe, it’s usually quite hard to get rid of a high-profile university “leader” or tenured professor. Student protests alone won’t do it.
I walk through the UC Berkeley campus today and compare the campus to what it was like in the 70’s. There is no comparison. The campus is so calm now.
Students have a lot on their minds about their own futures. The cost of education has skyrocketed while pay has stagnated.
I listen to recent graduates and I am blown away by their intelligence. Some of them have travelled quite a bit and they are more open to other cultures.
I think some of you have watched too much Fox News. The average age of viewers of Fox News is 68 to 72. I think the average age of viewers of CNN is pretty old too. I think it is over 60. I don’t know the average age of msnbc viewers. I think it is pretty old too. These news outlets and others do not represent younger people’s thinking. Young people aren’t watching.
Free speech… Yep. Older people can speak about what younger people are thinking and doing, but I would rather listen and watch younger people to understand what younger people are thinking and doing.
I read some of the posts from some of you old farts and the posts aren’t about young people at all. The posts are about old posters.
@Ohiodad51 Puppies and play doh are definitely stress relief around final exam things. Puppy petting was mentioned on so many college tours two years ago that more than one poster added it to our college tour bingo list.
It has nothing to do with safe spaces or trigger warnings.
Although upon close reading, it is not clear whether or how the University was involved. May have been a private student endeavor although it does sound like it was on campus in some manner.
ETA: @OHMomof2, see above link. Strictly speaking, this safe space had ‘video of frolicking puppies’ and not actual puppies.
“At the end of the day, there are repeated and consistent recorded instances of some sub set of college students/protestors who seek to violently and loudly shut down opposing viewpoints”
the same thing happened all over the county during the Vietnam War.
I dont think any colleges felt the need to create “safe spaces” for any students who were “sensitive” about the THOSE protests…
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