Hey, College Students: Life Will "Trigger" You. Better Get Used To It
Good editorial in the LA Times criticizing a call by the UCSB Student Senate to include "trigger warnings," "cautions from professors, to be added to their course syllabi, specifying which days' lectures will include readings or films or discussions that might trigger feelings of emotional or physical distress":
Trigger warnings are part of a campus culture that is increasingly overprotective and hypersensitive in its efforts to ensure that no student is ever offended or made to feel uncomfortable.Trigger warnings have been used on the Internet for a long time, first appearing on feminist websites visited by victims of sexual attacks; the goal was to protect assault victims from material that might trigger post-traumatic stress disorder. The warnings spread to a wide variety of websites and material that readers might find troubling.
That's fine for websites that voluntarily choose to caution their visitors, but it's exactly the wrong approach for colleges and universities. Oberlin College in Ohio already has gone further than UC Santa Barbara, issuing official trigger-warning guidelines for professors that sound almost like a parody of political correctness: "Triggers are not only relevant to sexual misconduct but also to anything that might cause trauma. Be aware of racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism, ableism and other issues of privilege and oppression. Realize that all forms of violence are traumatic."
Worse, the Oberlin guidelines go on to advise professors to remove "triggering material" from their courses entirely if it is not directly related to the course's learning goals. Such instructions come dangerously close to censorship.
Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" is listed by Oberlin as one possible "trigger" book because of its themes of colonialism, racism, religious prejudice and more. At Rutgers, an op-ed in the student paper suggested that study of "The Great Gatsby" should require trigger warnings about violence and gore. And then what happens? Should students be excused from reading a work of great literature, or be allowed to read a sanitized version?
Professors, uncertain of what might be considered too sexual, too warlike or so forth, might issue warnings so broad that they're meaningless, or feel pressured to bleach the syllabus to a pallid version of a real college course.
Students with psychological issues need to learn to deal with them -- seeking therapy, not censorship for all.
From the article: "that sound almost like a parody of political correctness."
Actually all political correctness (including the term itself) is a parody.
Jay at March 31, 2014 6:22 AM
If they are smart (hopefully), they will start the ‘arms-race’ by making students sign waivers to even register for any given class. Even smarter, having students sign a blanket waiver before entering college that explicitly spells out all the unpleasantness they might be exposed to (i.e. the real world). Let the marketplace of ideas take over: some universities will cave in to pressure and offer a sanitized college experience. Others will give the ‘full’ experience, also known as the same thing anyone over the age of 30 experienced while going to college. The secret is to allow a challenge to go to court wherein the beat down will be fast and swift since there is no inalienable right to not be offended. Well, so far as our nation has not gone full retard like some European nations have.
However, if I remember right, there was an article here not too long ago about that self-same process where even after signing a waiver, the student felt great deals of butt-hurt of being exposed to something unpleasant (I think it was some acting or literature class). As I said above: hold the line, make/help someone challenge it in court and make yourself the trailblazer providing an ‘adult’ education.
coffee! at March 31, 2014 7:04 AM
There is a reason why we developed massive frontal lobes: to control the flight or fight primitive reaction to various triggers. Please use them wisely.
I R A Darth Aggie at March 31, 2014 8:14 AM
We do some corporate compliance training for workplace violence, and domestic violence, that would CERTAINLY trigger someone who had gone through domestic violence... they put a lot of warnings and such up front, but ultimately you have to do the requirement... I'm sure plenty o' corporations are like that. I'm also sure that legal had to buyoff on the disclaimers.
The question isn't if something can trigger you... I know combat vets that go in the basement and turn up the music real loud on July 4th... sometimes in a group.
their wives and girlfriends get the kids together, and take 'em all to see the fireworks, while daddy and his buddys relive a firefight, and survive it once again.
It's the reaction to triggers that is different. Avoiding it/demanding that it be removed is different than learning to deal with it, and everyone is different. Seems like avoidance is the least best way, unless it's the only way, and that is going to come with some costs.
SwissArmyD at March 31, 2014 9:51 AM
So, does this mean there will be a "trigger warning" on healthcare.gov?
Radwaste at March 31, 2014 11:20 AM
Do you mean anger, upset, frustration, disgust and pity for idiots isn't a normal reaction?
Jim P. at March 31, 2014 11:31 AM
Why would anyone want to read something that doesn't trigger ANY strong feelings??
Sosij at March 31, 2014 11:46 AM
This is something that I have experience with, having PTSD due to multiple sexual assaults.
I don't see the trigger warnings as a method of censorship, nor should they ever be used that way. And I have and continue to get treatment for my PTSD. However, getting blindsided by graphic depictions of rape can give me flashbacks and nightmares for weeks. Knowing that it is coming allows me to make the decision for myself about what I should do to care for me. Often knowing what is coming allows me to control my reaction better and participate.
In an era where cheap plot thrills are created through graphic depictions of rape on TV, I want that warning. My issues would not and should not excuse me from the work that I need to do, nor did it excuse me from school work or required reading. But I don't recall the pervasive use of rape as a plot device when I was going through college. When people just want to shock rather than evoke emotion in art, there are consequences to the people around you.
Julie
Julie at March 31, 2014 1:50 PM
> In an era where cheap plot thrills are
> created through graphic depictions of
> rape on TV, I want that warning.
How much warning will be enough?
You're right. These media are incredibly tawdry, and built to titillate silly, lonely people who've never known a moment of genuine fear in their whole lives.
But the rest of us can't stop our lives (or our culture) for the needs of those who've been unfortunate.
I guess what I'd tell you about that kind of media (shabby TV & and shabby movies) is what I'd tell anyone else: You probably shouldn't be giving indiscriminate time to it anyway. If you want to watch a particular movie or TV show, and you've taken time to figure out what it will be like, go ahead.
But people who want their consciousness to just drunkenly drift away in those things are making a mistake, whether they've had terrible things happen to them or whether they haven't.
God Bless, J.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at March 31, 2014 4:15 PM
You probably shouldn't be giving indiscriminate time to it anyway.
Agreed. But what we are talking about is the enforced consumption for the sake of education. As an example, I worked for a university that would annually have a charitable donation drive. Managers would get credit for their employees donating money, and for showing up at the events for this function. One day we were all duck marched over to attend the kick off event, and subjected to an hour of a woman graphically describing the physical and sexual abuse she survived at the hands of her former husband. That was her method of fund raising for her domestic violence charity. If I had even known what the topic was going to be, I could have sat in the back to allow for an easy and non-disruptive departure. I wasn't given that option. We live in a society that encourages people to display the most base acts as entertainment. I am very mindful of what I consume, and moderate my own entertainment with a combination of exposure and protection to ensure that I don't make things worse by over or under protecting myself.
No one should be forced to censor themselves over topics where I am sensitive, but a heads up before we delve into raw and graphic descriptions sure is a kindness. And that is all that I am saying.
Julie
Julie at March 31, 2014 4:28 PM
This is a cousin issue to the thing about women's magazines. (So to speak.)
There's a lesser breed of feminist who whines about 'body perception disorders' and 'cultural expectations' from Vogue and Cosmo and Jennifer Anniston TV shows and God knows what else, as if these girls were just having this stuff poured down their throats.
They aren't. The girls are swigging that nectar from a jug with both hands. These media are elective: They pander to young women, and girls consume them because it's fun, or at least rewarding on some level... On a level that doesn't involve looking other people in the eye.
No one is patient with an 18-year-old boy who thinks his girlfriend needs to look like Miss November. He's spent too many hours in his room with his door locked, staring at the pinup. No one should be patient with a girl who's spent as many hours reading articles about Taylor Swift's superhuman thighs, or 15 Ways to Drive Him Crazy in Bed with a LavaLamp.
Both the boys and the girls give these media more attention than they deserve because it's easier to read magazines than to courageously deal with real people and their needs.
I mean, Julie, how many TV shows did you want to watch, anyway?
If I see a good one, I'll let you know. (I watched the first two seasons of Mad Men a few years ago, and it included a historically thoughtful but unpleasant depiction of rape in the '60's.)
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at March 31, 2014 4:30 PM
> we were all duck marched over to attend
> the kick off event, and subjected to an
> hour of a woman graphically describing
> the physical and sexual abuse she survived
No policy will ever protect us from assholes...
We can tell from your tone that you understand this.
I'm just sayin'... This is one reason to loathe our psychotherapeutic culture. It encourages people to behave badly instead of stoically.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at March 31, 2014 4:34 PM
I'm going to finish a degree while I'm in the military, then I am probably going to pursue a second one when I leave the service.
At that time I will have had 20 years military time. In that time I will have seen/heard some of the following:
Kids thrown in front of vehicles to try to stop convoys
Those missing body parts describe how the regime sliced them off deliberately for not joining the Ba'ath party
Explosives land within a few feet of me
Stood on guard without protective mask while waiting for what we were told was an inevitable chemical weapons attack that would pretty certainly kill myself and the other soldier I was on duty with
I will have had to deal with the fact that I missed years with a son that I would subsequently lose to a sudden freak illness, and taken care of his mother and siblings after she developed severe PTSD and depression as a result of his loss.
I will have run a side business, paid of a mortgage and started another business which I expect to be actively running.
I will have been part of the start of the Iraq war, and the end of the Afghan war...
And all this but the tip of the iceberg.
Its going to be HARD as fuck not to laugh my ass off at some whiny college shit complaining how nobody cares about their feelings.
Robert at March 31, 2014 7:54 PM
I think that it is important to be triggered, to feel intensely. I think back to Roots. It still gives me a shiver to think about it. It was graphic and it triggered strong feelings. It gave me more compassion. These strong depictions make tragedies real rather than theoretical.
Jen at March 31, 2014 8:02 PM
Oh Jesus, trigger warnings. I mean, sure, I walk around about half-cocked all the time myself. Some people just rub me the wrong way. But they can change, and that's what I'm waiting for. See there, I have a strategy. And that's what trigger control is all about.
Canvasback at March 31, 2014 9:15 PM
> These strong depictions make tragedies
> real rather than theoretical.
I see what you're getting at, but it's not true.
Seeing something on TV is never like in person... Not good things, and not bad things.
We're all grateful that you're trying to understand the experiences of others... But television and movies are essentially useless for that purpose.
When people who've been there talk about things I've only seen on TV, I try to shut the Hell up. And try even harder to listen.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at March 31, 2014 9:27 PM
Trigger warnings: Warning, you might feel…things.
Its called life, deal with it.
Robert at April 1, 2014 12:02 AM
"No one should be forced to censor themselves over topics where I am sensitive, but a heads up before we delve into raw and graphic descriptions sure is a kindness. "
There are two problems with this. The first is that, once you take into account all of the things that someone might find traumatic, you wind up with a trigger warning on everything up to and including "Happy Birthday To You". Consider the college feminists who find the sight of anything that's not explicitly feminine to be traumatic, or the far-right prudes who have apoplexy at anything that even hints at sex.
The second is that the people advocating these things are pretty up-front that it's a foot in the door for censorship. We have it right there in Oberlin's own words, as quoted by the L.A. Times (not itself exactly a bastion of libertarian thought):
The Left will always tell you what they're up to if you pay enough attention. And here we have them telling us, pretty explicitly, that censorship is in fact the goal.
Cousin Dave at April 1, 2014 7:16 AM
Preparing people for "real life" doesn't necessarily mean simulating all the shit that can possibly happen as soon as possible.
Example: My geraniums are currently in my living room, where they are growing in a safe environment until ready for planting. I'm not going to chuck ice cubes at them (even though there's hail in the real world!) or drop slugs and snails in the real world (because in my garden there are slugs and snails and they need to deal with reality!) because I want them to grow strong. If they deal with those things before they are strong, they will never grow strong enough to plant in my garden.
That said, I would think that by college you'd be strong enough to handle difficult topics.
NicoleK at April 2, 2014 6:12 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/03/31/hey_college_stu.html#comment-4449260">comment from NicoleKExactly, Nicole. If you, for whatever reason, can't handle the reading material or life in college, you need to get help or not go to college, not try to transform college to be in tune with your psychological problems.
Amy Alkon at April 2, 2014 6:21 AM
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