Safe Zones and Trigger Warnings

Recently, I read an article, "Univ. of Chicago pushes back on trigger warnings, safe spaces" about a letter written by a dean of the University of Chicago to incoming freshmen. This letter summarizes the university's "commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression." This article inspired this post, so Intellectual Takeout gets some credit. 

In our modern, sensitive society there has been a large increase in political correctness and general fear (or discomfort, possibly) of sharing opinions. This has resulted in some colleges and universities to avoid discussing topics that touch on “racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism, ableism, and other issues of privilege and oppression." Further, safe zones, areas where students can escape from topics that can be stressful, have been created in universities. Trigger Warnings, alerts that professors are expected to issue if something in a course might cause a strong emotional response, are also becoming popular.

I'll quote the University of Chicago on safe zones and trigger warnings, "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."

I applaud the University for taking this stance because colleges and universities are supposed to teach students how to think critically and expose students to different ideas. Political views shouldn't be based on emotion, they should be based on facts. Trigger warnings are for emotional safety not to genuinely protect students. Avoiding facts or ideas that are contrary to one's opinion or uncomfortable hurts students instead of helping them. The only way a student can develop opinions completely is to hear other viewpoints and facts that may be uncomfortable to them. 

If you want to read the letter, it's posted below. And here's a link (click on the title) to an article titled "The Coddling of the American Mind" from The Atlantic, it provides an in-depth analysis of safe zones and trigger warnings.