Life does not have a “trigger warning.”
Including warnings about course content that may evoke feelings of distress does not guard students from their emotions; rather, it guards students from reality. The addition of these aforementioned precautions at DePauw University would not adequately prepare students for their lives beyond college. Therefore, a policy that requires faculty to provide trigger warnings alongside potentially sensitive material should not be enforced.
A liberal arts institution is designed to open the minds of students to new ideologies and philosophies, regardless of how uncomfortable those outlooks are. However, by notifying students in advance about potentially sensitive topics, it makes it extremely feasible for students to reject opposing viewpoints or information that may conflict with their current beliefs. The inclusion of trigger warnings could allow for students to disregard topics that they are simply bitter about or disagree with. In actuality, it is very likely that the amount of
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This challenge could cause faculty members to feel restricted on what kind of information is considered appropriate to share with their classes. Finally, trigger warnings would give students an unrealistic perception of what life beyond DePauw is like. There will not always be somebody to warn them when life shakes their world a little bit. When a story regarding rape appears in a newspaper, there are no trigger warnings. When comments that could be regarded as “sexist” or “racist” are overheard in public places, there are no trigger warnings. When violent images are projected on the Internet, there are no trigger warnings. The university that a student attends should embolden and hearten them to topics that are real issues in current