Trigger Warnings In The Classroom

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.

Bridges’ argument in Why students need trigger warnings failed to address how some students might use trigger warnings to avoid a reading or an assignment. His personal experience with a student with trauma, though, helps incite sympathy and suggest to readers that trigger warnings are necessary to avoid further physiological harm to students. However, AAUP’s argument still sustains credibility because many professors have similar views that trigger warnings marginalize topics like sex and race and they react by avoiding those topics.

The topic of trigger warnings have been a hot topic amongst people. Trigger warnings are a warning or a statement that the following material or phrases could be harmful to the psyche of certain individuals about to experience the material. This spans across the average worker to professors at universities. This topic rose from about 2011 on the internet and has reached a high to where people are discussing their thoughts on the matter. Everyone has a stance on whether trigger warnings should be issued when discussing a potential topic that could cause distress for a student or anyone in a class. With the rise of mental health disorders being diagnosed in students, some seek professional help or a better diagnosis because of there helpfulness. Students have been at odds sometimes because of trigger warnings. The debate on whether or not to implicate them in a classroom setting is the main topic of the argument.

In the two essays, How Trigger Warnings Are Hurting Mental Health on Campus by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt and The Trigger Warning Myth by Aaron R. Hanlon, the authors have opposing sides to trigger warnings abusing mental health. Lukianoff and Haidt claim that trigger warnings hurt the mental health crisis on campus. In contrast, Hanlon argues that trigger warnings are not the problem and that is what happens when the mental challenges of students become flashpoints in our culture. I agree with both authors because mental health seems to be avoided rather than supported, therefore, trigger warnings being a problem and because our culture has made it difficult to adapt to people with mental disabilities.

One article, written by Jenny Jarvie, titled “Trigger Happy: The Trigger Warning has Spread from Blogs to College Classes. Can it be Stopped?” discusses the problem with trigger warnings on college campuses. Jarvie explains that trigger warnings on the internet have been around for years as a way to prepare for potentially disturbing subjects but are now becoming more universal. Recently, a group of students at the University of California, Santa Barbara passes a resolution imploring administrators to include mandatory content warnings in potentially offensive syllabi (Jarvis, 2015). The reason for wanting the use of trigger warnings for these students is to prevent the

Some of the most concerning effects of trigger warnings pertain to the well-being of students and the academic freedom of professors. In “The Coddling of the American Mind” from The Atlantic, the authors describe how trigger warnings may affect students’ mental health saying, “A campus culture devoted to policing speech and punishing speakers is likely to engender patterns of thought that are surprisingly similar to those long identified by cognitive behavioral therapists as causes of depression and anxiety. The new protectiveness may be teaching students to think pathologically” (Lukianoff and Haidt). The implementation of trigger warnings has been seen as a call for censorship in the name of sensitivity. This suggestion of a change in curriculum is alarming college faculty members across the nation. Professors are fearful of offending students and damaging their reputations. In “Survey

Trigger statements are becoming more and more popular in syllabi, especially on college campuses. These provide students, especially those with post-traumatic stress disorder, with a warning about possibly uncomfortable content that could cause a flashback or panic attack. There are several different opinions about trigger warnings. Jenny Jarvie, the author of the article “Trigger Happy,” believes that they have gone too far and are a detriment to society (Jarvie 6). To enhance Jarvie’s point further, in their article “The Coddling of the American Mind” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt explain how trigger warnings cause metal illness on campuses across the country. The opposing view is that they are necessary to have a fulfilling learning

In Lindsay Holmes’s article “A Quick Lesson on What Trigger Warnings Actually Do,” she states that trigger warnings are misinterpreted cautions notifying whether or not a discussion could cause emotional distress, and often are not implemented for this reason. Holmes begins by recounting when the University of Chicago announced they would not be focusing on Trigger Warnings or safe places; although the university later tells expresses that their initial statement was misinterpreted, the author uses this to open the discussion on the importance of trigger warnings.

Sofie Karasek, a director of education and co-founder of End Rape on Campus, reports on The New York Times about how trigger warnings are helpful. Karasek begins with an anecdote of a Harvard college student, Alyssa Leader, who was sexually assaulted in her dormitory ("Trust Me, Trigger Warnings are Helpful"). Leader took an anthropology class on political violence with Professor Theodon and her professor consistently warned the class about discussing sexual violence and sensible material. The trigger/content that warned Alyssa helped her delve into the grueling material with the understanding that she had the support. "When professors give these warnings, provide alternative readings and facilitate respectful conversations about deeply personal issues, it is easier for all students to participate" (Karasek).

In recent discussions of college safety, a controversial issue has been whether students should receive trigger warnings or not. On the one hand, some argue that trigger warnings prevent emotional trauma and trigger flashbacks. On other hand, however, others argue that trigger warnings will likely exacerbate the situation. In the words of Jeannie Suk, one of this view’s main proponents, “have pressured their professors to avoid teaching the subject in order to protect themselves and their classmates from potential distress”. According to this view, teachers in certain universities tend to avoid teaching certain topics because of trigger warnings. In sum, then, the issue is whether using trigger warnings are good or bad.

At University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2014, the student Senate passed a resolution that called for mandatory "trigger warnings.” This resolution, if it had become campus policy, proposed that not only students who have been diagnosed with PTSD would be exempt from class for any possibly triggering material but any student who was discomfited by the material (The Times Editorial Board). In other words, students have the choice to decide if they attend lecture due to discomfort scot-free. According to the UCSB Newspaper, The Nexus, sophomore Bailey Loverin said the idea for campus-wide trigger warnings came to her in February after a professor showed a graphic film depicting rape. Although she had herself not felt triggered by the film,

As Robin Wilson said in her article (TITLE), professors are surprised when students confront them about the need for trigger warnings

“I had flashbacks, I had panic attacks, I was completely in misery for three days, I don’t even remember what happened.” Danielle Leong is a sexual assault survivor who suffers from PTSD. Leong was watching “Sons of Anarchy” on Netflix while a rape scene occurred, she had suffered from a panic attack. What Leong had needed, was a trigger warning. Imagine Leong in a classroom, comfortable in class and then being surprised with a horrific scene with no trigger warning from a professor, feeling threatened and questioning her safety. Colleges and students have been discussing if trigger warnings are needed in classrooms. Students have been requesting trigger warnings on syllabuses or at least a personal warning from professors before class for

Reality is a hard trail that everyone in the world has to face. Reality comes with many aspects that are constantly changing and that can be confusing or scary to many people. Coming to terms with reality is difficult sometimes but, no one must shy from aspects of reality for that reason. If they were to shy away and hide themselves from knowledge or experience then they will never be able to overcome their conflictions with the issue. In order to grow, people have to properly come to understand and face harsh realities. There are no safe spaces or trigger warnings in most places of the world. That’s the lesson that the incoming students of University of Chicago, whom may expect the inclusion of ‘trigger warning’ and ‘safe spaces’ into the education system, need to understand. A safe space is an area located anywhere, where anyone can escape from things they find harmful, such as controversial topics or different ideals. They are also able to fully express themselves, without having to worry about being uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe. A trigger warning is an essentially a warning that the presented content through verbal or visual means, may be considered disturbing or upsetting to many. Some students of Chicago University may think that their school is in need of these concepts in order to protect themselves however the University has rejected the idea in a letter they sent, on the basis that it could prove harmful to their academic freedom.

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.