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Many higher education institutions in America have adopted policies regarding trigger warnings. Trigger warnings is a broad term that can be adopted to mean different things for different people. Generally, trigger warnings are supposed to be a warning to students about the content that will be discussed in a reading or lecture due to the sensitive nature of the material. There are many misconceptions about the purpose and use of trigger warnings. It is my personal belief that trigger warnings should be disclosed when sensitive material will be covered in a class. This belief stems from the ideas that all students should feel comfortable in a classroom and should never be caught off guard by a topic that could cause anxiety or mental anguish. Many courses cover sensitive topics; there is no doubt in whether they should be discussed. Professors should actively communicate to students what will be covered in order to allow students to be prepared and make adjustments if necessary.

Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt wrote an article entitled “The Coddling of the American Mind” that describes how millennial students are prone to a sensitive world in the age of peanut butter fee classrooms and zero tolerance bullying policies. Lukianoff and Haidt basically call the use of trigger warnings in classrooms a student sought movement to maintain a campus free from awkward and challenging topics that could offend or discomfort. These authors are quick to condemn trigger warnings because trigger warnings are said to hinder discussion and protect students from real world situations (Haidt, Lukianoff “The Coddling of the American Mind”). However, the use of trigger warnings is to promote a learning environment where students can learn in a way so that they are not prone to panic attacks and other anxiety induces habits. If something like this was to arise, then students are only focusing on the anxiety and therefore not learning or participating. Having a notice of a sensitive before a class allows a student to prepare for the topics at hand.

These claims made by Haidt and Lukianoff are directly combatted in Kate Manne’s article “Why I Use Trigger Warnings”. Manne speaks to the benefit of trigger warnings and even the necessity of their use. Manne explains that it is inevitable that many of her students have experienced some sort of trauma. Students vulnerable to the topics presented are able to adequately prepare themselves for a topic when trigger warnings are provided. It is difficult to predict how a student may respond to a sensitive topic. People are always on a recovery journey and people are different places will react in different ways. Very often, if caught off guard a student will be unable to focus, participate, and may even have a severe reaction like a panic attack. This is not a way to facilitate learning. These reactions can all be avoided with a few simple words compiled together to make up a trigger warning (Manne, Why I Use Trigger Warnings).

Both articles discuss the use of trigger warnings when it comes to controversial topics such as religion and politics. Manne points out in her article that this is not the desired use of trigger warnings. The use of trigger warnings is to allow an environment where personal panic and trauma related hysteria are not induced (Manne, Why I Use Trigger Warnings). This idea of political correctness should not even play into the use of trigger warnings. The goal to create a class that avoids upsetting students that have experienced personal trauma should be a given in higher learning. While political correctness is also a prominent university topic, the goal of trigger warnings is not to be sensitive to other people’s beliefs. The use of trigger warnings is to be aware that traumas are very prevalent in student’s lives. Adding to the trauma and reinstating a memory or thought of that trauma is not the goal of learning.

Nathan Heller writes “The Big Uneasy” to explore a liberal arts college’s stance on issues like trigger warnings. He spoke to a student at Oberlin named Eosphoros. This student compares ingredients on a food list to trigger warnings. Eosphoros states, "People should have the right to know and consent to what they're putting into their minds, just as they have the right to know and consent to what they're putting into their bodies (Heller, The Big Uneasy)." A transparency in the topics being discussed is very simple, yet has received so much criticism. Consequently, so did the movement to put ingredient lists on consumer products. Perhaps there is a correlation between the two. The hunger for knowledge is certainly alive and well among Millennials. However, the Millennials do plea for it to be on their own terms. The terms being for an advance notice on class discussion and lecture.

Ingrid Sturgis’s article featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education interviews university professors and how they view trigger warnings. One professor interview in “WARNING: This Lesson May Upset You” says that providing content warnings are on the rise and they should be. Scott Hammond at Utah State University shares that it is his moral obligation to his student population to provide a welcoming academic community. This can only be achieved when he is fully communicating to his students the topics being discussed. Finding alternative readings or videos for students disturbed by a specific topic is something Hammond offers to his students. Being sensitive that students react to material in different ways is a simple assertion that not everyone has had the same experiences and background. The student population is continually getting more diverse. Additionally, campus violence and mental health are more prominently understood (Sturgis, WARNING: This Lesson May Upset You). Because of all these factors, trigger warnings are encouraged to be used by university boards.

Overall, the purpose of trigger warnings is to have students be as productive in class as they can be. Additionally, content warnings enable instructors to facilitate learning without the risk of catching a student dealing with emotional trauma off guard. Trigger warnings are meant to enable people struggling with mental health diseases to be able to rise above their illness and fully participate in classes. The backlash against trigger warnings comes with the stigma related to mental health. Students with mental health illnesses are constantly struggling with media and societal ideas that their illness is lesser or not important enough. The simple modification of a person with a broken leg being able to sit in a chair next to the door of the classroom can be seen as more of a hassle than content warnings. The simple advance notice of class plans or a few sentences regarding the sensitive material can make all the difference to a person dealing with trauma. There is no heavy lifting or body moving involved.

Works Cited

Heller, Nathan. "The Big Uneasy." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 23 May 2016. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

Lukianoff, Greg, and Jonathan Haidt. "The Coddling of the American Mind." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, Sept. 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

Manne, Kate. "Why I Use Trigger Warnings." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Sept. 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.

Sturgis, Ingrid. "WARNING: This Lesson May Upset You." Chronicle of Higher Education (2016): 33-35. Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 10 Oct. 2016.