Intellectual Safe Spaces

The purpose of my research is to explore and offer analysis of the controversy over the use of trigger warnings and safe spaces on college campuses, in order to understand when, where, and most importantly, regarding what subjects their use is appropriate.

Racial identity is one of the biggest themes that John Singleton explored in the film “Higher Learning” Most of the characters were in search for tangible answers to this exact question.Character like Ice cube couldn’t graduate from Columbus University because he couldn’t find an answer that could totally satisfy him. Omar Epps who play the character known as Malik dealt with his internal struggles of being a Black man in college. From the way he saw himself, how he perceived others viewed him, and how he saw the system work against him. Malik struggled internally with doing the right thing

In the article “Trigger Warnings, Safe Spaces and Free Speech, too” published in the New York Times by Sophie Downes, Downes argues in response to a letter sent out by the dean of the University of Chicago. The letter states that safe spaces and trigger warnings were an issue deterring students from having free speech and therefore would not be supported on the Chicago campus anymore. Downes argues that the letter was just a poor attempt to advert attention away from the real issues on the campus—ones that the dean will not meet with student council about and will not talk about at all. Sophie Downes argues that safe spaces and trigger warnings actually encourage free space and enhance support and community—two values that the dean said were deterred by the existence of them.

As a class, we mainly fell into the category of those who would not tell a professor if they had any concerns regarding a class. The standard here with the usage of trigger warnings is how do we as a society know what actually will require a trigger warning. If no one has a standard, then the policy would be mocked for being too lackadaisical. I see trigger warnings being necessary in some situations where I would want to know if something graphic is going to be shown to me. We came across two definitions of safe spaces in the class: 1) an actual physical safe space and 2) an ideological safe space. The concern with the physical safe space is that it seems more reductive or childish, which interestingly enough is how the Baby Boomers assess our generation.

Sally attended Joliet Junior College and took a general psychology class. One day when she attended her psychology class, her professor warned students of a topic that there were going to talk about in class which was how abuse can damage an individual’s mental state. Sally has been through abuse in her past and is uncomfortable with that certain topic, so she left class because she was alerted to the topic. Ultimately, she didn’t want to revisit her past of abuse. This is considered a trigger warning, in which professors give a warning about topics that they will discuss that can lead to some sort of discomfort for students. Trigger warnings are used on campuses that are considered a safe space. The term safe space is defined as an environment where students can feel like themselves and are not exposed to any harm physically or mentally (Google). Various of colleges/universities have safe spaces so that their students don’t have to go through discrimination of sorts or any harm. Safe spaces are good for students, but there are negative outcomes from it, such as it doesn’t let individuals who suffer and have trauma cope with what happened to them. Even though are negative outcomes from safe spaces, there are positive results that impact Millennials such as a decrease in anxiety and prevention of hate speech.

Conversations in the media and on college campuses regarding trigger warnings, safe spaces, and microaggressions have been impassioned, to say the least. Many have found such requests to be reasonable, because students, in essence, are seeking a respectful atmosphere in which vulnerabilities are respected and insults are not tolerated. Critics have argued that designating some spaces as “safe” implies that others are “unsafe,” and it follows, then, that these “unsafe” spaces should be made “safer.” To what end? Even those who express support wonder: where to draw the line? What topics warrant trigger warnings? Who decides what constitutes a microaggression? That certain subjects demand delicate treatment in the classroom is hardly

Colleges and universities have found numerous ways throughout the years to protect their students from the outside world. One measure that colleges have taken to ensure this is that they have stopped continuing to allow comedians and speakers present at their schools due to upset students. These students did not care for the jokes that were being made by the speakers. Another measure taken by colleges is that minority students can eliminate anything they do not want to think about, read about, or be challenged

R. (2012). Black male student success in higher education: A report from the National Black male college achievement study. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education This article contributes to the national conversation regarding the education of the black male student. This article presents the unusual perspective on the history of black males missing from higher education. This article is informative and helps to shape my view of the economic effects of the missing black student. I found this article by going to the UHD library to reference other books to make this paper a success. The article is about 15 pages of serious yet intriguing information. This article is well written and is a great contrast to other journals on black male students. The fact that a Harper is a scholar on black males in education is what I think adds credibility to its overall

According to Patricia Hill Collins in “The Power of Self-Definition,” creating a safe space is important part of empowerment because:

With the generations changing, people are becoming more cautious about what they do or say or even let their children go out and do sensitivity is a growing at an alarming rate with the demand for “safe spaces” at college campuses across the United States, with a high rise of students demanding certain subjects from schools to be removed from institutes. Students are trying to get rid of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause them to feel uncomfortable and offended. Students are attempting to get rid of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause them to feel uncomfortable and offended.

Trigger Warnings on College Campuses According to the Harvard Political Review, a safe space regarding a college campus is defined as “protection from emotional discomfort.” Although being comfortable about yourself and your opinions is a good thing, having designated spaces where people can not voice their opinion because it “could hurt someone” is not. In an interview with political and civil rights activists and former advisor to former president Barack Obama, Van Jones. He was asked where he stood on the subject of “safe spaces” on college campuses.

Essentially, I interviewed this student on November 29, 2005 at approximately 2:00 p.m., and I inquired about any knowledge he may have about any seemingly inappropriate race issues in the said residence hall. This student, who once resided in the Snyder-Phillips dormitory, indicated that his “experiences as a resident in this hall were similar to some of the experiences” I previously listed and, more specifically, that he also, “recalled several incidents where non-minorities were intimidated by the presence of African Americans and, as such, they made every effort to distant themselves” (Wilson). I also was able to have discussions with other Michigan State students on this issue. One of the students who reside in Hubbard Hall had witness some race issues on campus, particularly in Snyder-Phillips where there are fewer minorities had said, “I believe people act differently in Snyder-Phillips because of different lifestyles. Over in the area of Snyder-Phillips, there aren’t as many minorities as there is in certain places on campus like Hubbard Hall, Brody Complex, and Akers Hall. I also think that its basically two different lifestyles” (Rutledge), while the other student I interviewed was Caucasian who once lived in Snyder-Phillips had some experiences

Rob Nelson brought this article with an extrinsic ethos in it based on the character of the author. Rob Nelson is a well known African-American editor in Chief of Chapel Hill’s Daily Tar Heel newspaper. Its estimated print readership of 38,000 makes it the largest community newspaper in Orange County (DTH Media, 2011). This is a well-known magazine for the audience; therefore, all the information and article from Daily Tar Heel must be reliable to the audience. Since he was born and raised in an African- American community, Nelson usually reflects on issues about race and practicing racism in his writing. Later on, the article was re-published in the academic journal, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, a journal that has a high academically reliable and strong authority. The readers knew about Nelson and his authority before they read his article.

An intersectional reflection of my dichotomous relationship with higher education is what fuels my desire to pursue a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. As a first-generation college student, earning a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees profoundly altered the trajectory of my family out of years of generational poverty. As a result of embracing higher education, I possess the ability to think critically and creatively, with a passion and hunger for lifelong learning. Contrarily, the experience also left some biological, psychological, and social scarring. Macroaggressions, tokenism, and implicit bias have all contributed to the way that I now live, learn, and work in the world. While these experiences did not prevent the completion of my education, it has led others to abandon the pursuit, and certainly presents an enigma to many colleges and universities around the country eager to recruit and retain scholars that identify as Black/African-American, first-generation, and/or low socioeconomic status. The majority of my professional experience revolves around this very conundrum and the time has now come to pursue extensive and original research in this chosen field.

In a recent poll a whopping 36 percent of students felt that safe spaces were necessary on college campuses according to LendEDU, a student loan organization. Safes spaces provide an outlet for many who may take offense to material that negatively impacts a student’s emotions. Some students who have had traumas in their life take security in safe spaces due to the guarantee of not being in harm’s way of the lessons they may find offensive. In a world that is not censored from sensitive material in every location it is apprehensive to put trust into a specific location for security. Although many would agree safe spaces provide an outlet of security for those who have experienced traumas in their life, an alternative compromise should be in place to allow students to explore the world from different perspectives, learn to handle the tribulation of opposition, and to prepare students to overcome adversity outside of the classroom. Safe spaces on college campuses are defined as a place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm therefor, it is wise to find comfort in the ideological sense of security a student would likely find in a safe space.