Safe Space Research Paper

Erwin Chemerinsky describes the main opposing views on this issue in his book Free Speech on Campus, “One derides all efforts to protect students from the effects of offensive or disrespectful speech as “coddling” and “politically correctness.” The other side

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.

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.

“A movement is arising, undirected and driven largely by students, to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense” (Lukianoff and Haidt 44). Colleges are sheltering their students from words and ideas that students do not like or are found to be offensive. Affecting their education and cognitive skills, scientists are warning colleges to refrain from coddling the students and allowing other viewpoints to be spoken. People are speaking their minds, saying their own views; however, some people are over sensitive and take these viewpoints offensively. In the article “The Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt successfully argues using rhetorical questions, specific examples, and affective visuals that protecting college students from words and ideas deteriorates their education and mental health.

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.

Throughout the past few years people have started to become more cautious of what they say and do in public because everyone reacts differently to all kinds of things and it is not hard to offend someone. In the essay “Coddling of the American Mind” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, they discuss the rise of microaggression, which fosters a culture where young adults are sheltered from concepts that give offense. They focus on the idea of removing offensive words, ideas, and subjects from college campuses because they believe it is disastrous to protect the words and ideas that may cause “microaggression” from college students. In order to persuade the readers that colleges are distorting and coddling the minds of their students, Lukianoff and Haidt use modes of persuasion, examples, and definitions.

Does safe spaces at universities make for a better experience for minorities like blacks, LGBTQ, or anyone that’s not heterosexual white males. Safe spaces are places where anyone can relax and freely express themselves without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe. University of Chicago in the class 2020 received a letter explicitly stating that they support academic freedom which in terms that they do not support “trigger warnings,” and even went as far to say that they don't condone the creation of “intellectual safe spaces.” In response to this letter sent out to the class of 2020 regarding safe spaces Cameron Okeke wrote the article “I’m a black UChicago graduate. Safe spaces got me through college,” arguing that

“A movement is arising, undirected and driven largely by students, to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense” (Lukianoff and Haidt 44). Some colleges shelter their students from words and ideas that students do not like or are offensive to them. However, unless colleges want to affect their education and mental health, colleges need to refrain from cocooning the students and support students to speak and hear different viewpoints freely. Most people speak their minds, saying their views; however, some people are oversensitive and take these viewpoints offensively. In the article “The Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt successfully persuade their audience

“The Coddling of the American Mind” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt is a short work written to inform people on an epidemic that is affecting colleges and universities around America. The article talks about certain “words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense” (Lukianoff) and how students are asking for them to not be said. Much is covered on the topic including specific examples of how people were persecuted for saying such things and various opinions on if this trend is for better or worse. I believe the article highlights a problem in the educational system and in order for improvement these topics need to be taught and discussed.

In Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt’s,“The Coddling of the American Mind” they discuss the issues commonly found in modern day universities. American colleges and universities are becoming too sensitive, and many students have taken safe spaces to a whole new level. Some popular comedians such as, Chris Rock, Bill Maher, and Jerry Seinfeld will no longer perform on college campuses because the student body often proves too sensitive. Campuses and universities are too focused on the mental pampering of its students, rather than the educational achievement.

College is the number one opportunity to pursue higher education for a living wage, therefore it should prepare students for the work force, relationships, and every other factor about the “real world”. One article by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt entitled The Coddling of the American Mind sheds light on how indulging students sensitivities can actually be impeding them from a higher education. Lukianoff and Haidt use many convincing examples that demonstrate the ever growing paranoia and general mental illness that’s growing in our young college students, and the techniques that can be used to combat it instead of fueling the fire of sensitivity. In the article Lukianoff and Haidt ask what these policies pertain, if students are really benefiting from these restrictions, and how schools shouldn 't be expected to prosecute and protect.

Students everywhere are becoming more sensitive towards ideas that might hurt their feelings. This article really focuses on microaggressions and how these words or phrases have no malicious intent, but are still looked at by some students as offensive. It also looks at how students have a right to not be offended, and how this is having a negative outcome. When colleges try to adjust and make everyone happy so that no students get offended, they run into many problems like students being unable to have genuine discussions. There is also a negative outcome for students as well. Students who are protected will not be ready for the real world. The article also discusses trigger warnings and how they can become damaging to the brain, and are psychologically negative in the way students are using or avoiding them. “The Coddling of the American Mind”, shows how and why coddling college students has a negative impact on their education and mental

A safe space from Holley and Steiner (2005) is a place where someone is secure to take a risk, express your own opinion so you can share and explore your knowledge, attitude and behaviours. These scene’s show how to make an unsafe space and how to make an unsafe space safe again.

Like Rachel pointed out “The rise of safe spaces has also deeply encroached upon open dialogue and free expression. It is ironic that while the origins of the term safe spaces can be found in the 20th century women’s movement, where it implies a certain license to speak and act freely, today the term has come to be associated with precisely the opposite: the inability to speak freely. Journalists have been silenced in the name of safe spaces and debates have been barred. Books have been banned and conversation topics prohibited”. Safe spaces should be places where people can relax and not worry about being offended by others people’s opinions like on the newsletter at the University of Northwestern where “A recent white graduate explained. She argued that everyone needed a safe space and that for her, as a Jew, it had been the Hillel house. She knew that when she was there, she could relax and not worry about being interrogated by non-Jews about Israeli politics or other concerns”. For decades, safe spaces have provided people a place to get away from the scrutiny and oppression of the outside world. In recent years, however, safe spaces have started to become less of a toll for students, and more of a hiding place. Safe spaces should be a place where students can exchange thoughts without fear of being ridiculed or

For starters, a safe space is usually identified as an environment in which some can go where they can be free of any type of physical or emotional distress. Safe spaces are most commonly known today to protect LGBT individuals from discrimination. However, it can also be used to shelter some from racism, prejudice, post-traumatic stress triggers, bullying, and so on. There are substantial benefits to safe spaces; not only are they places where individuals can find security, but they can also be locations in which people discover comfort within themselves. For example, a person who has been bullied due to their sexuality, and now consequently feels uncomfortable being themselves starts going to a safe space at their school. Overtime, they are able to meet people going through the same thing. Now, the individual can get advice on how to deal with their situation. Thus, due to going to an environment where they are accepted they now can feel more secure within themselves.