"Triggers" in Universities: WTF is Wrong With These People??

[The Rabbi]

Excellent op ed from Prof Epstein in today's WSJ.
What is wrong with people in college that they need a warning that book might be "offensive"? Are students today really that coddled that the mere appearance of the word "******" (a word that can not be repeated any more under any circumstances) will throw them into suicidal depression?
Joseph Epstein: A New Entry in the Annals of Academic Cravenness - WSJ.com

For those who have not yet caught up with it, in the academic world the phrase "trigger warning" means alerting students to books that might "trigger" deleterious emotional effects. Should a Jewish student be asked to read "Oliver Twist" with its anti-Semitic caricature of Fagin, let alone "The Merchant of Venice," whose central figure is the Jewish usurer Shylock? Should African-American students be required to read "Huckleberry Finn," with its generous use of the "n-word," or "Heart of Darkness," which equates the Congo with the end of rational civilization? Should students who are ardent pacifists be made to read about warfare in Tolstoy and Stendhal, or for that matter the Iliad? As for gay and lesbian students, or students who have suffered sexual abuse, or those who have a physical handicap . . . one could go on.


Pointing out the potentially damaging effects of books began, like so much these days, on the Internet, where intellectual Samaritans began listing such emotionally troublesome books on their blogs. Before long it was picked up by the academy. At the University of California at Santa Barbara, the student government suggested that all course syllabi contain trigger warnings. At Oberlin College the Office of Equity Concerns advised professors to steer clear of works that might be interpreted as sexist or racist or as vaunting violence.

more at the source.

 

[Mac1958]

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Well, at least no one can be surprised. Control mixed with hyper-sensitivity. The glorious world of Political Correctness. It would not be the first time this happened in the world.

Does anyone think think this will be as bad as it gets? Really?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/warning-the-literary-canon-could-make-students-squirm.html?_r=0

From the above article: "The presumption there is that students should not be forced to deal with something that makes them uncomfortable is absurd or even dangerous."

I would use the term "madness" to describe this, but it will have its defenders, plenty of them.

.

 

[martybegan]

.

Well, at least no one can be surprised. Control mixed with hyper-sensitivity. The glorious world of Political Correctness. It would not be the first time this happened in the world.

Does anyone think think this will be as bad as it gets? Really?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/warning-the-literary-canon-could-make-students-squirm.html?_r=0

From the above article: "The presumption there is that students should not be forced to deal with something that makes them uncomfortable is absurd or even dangerous."

I would use the term "madness" to describe this, but it will have its defenders, plenty of them.

.

Colleges are no longer houses of learning, inquiring, and debate. They are 4 year pit stops between high school and employment or more education.

I don't blame the students, I blame the professors.

 

[The Rabbi]

Who in his right mind thinks that controversial or unpopular ideas are too harrowing to expose college students to?

 

[Mac1958]

.

Train them early on thought conformity and hypersensitivity. Teach them to recoil from that which is deemed unacceptable.

Teach them to shout down anyone whose views dare to differ from theirs. Teach them to isolate those who don't think like they do.

This is beginning to sound like a freakin' Star Trek episode.

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[mudwhistle]

Mao caused thousands of his own people to commit suicide. Stalin killed millions of Russians.

Strange how the folks who run Washington admire them so much.

 

[Gadawg73]

.

Well, at least no one can be surprised. Control mixed with hyper-sensitivity. The glorious world of Political Correctness. It would not be the first time this happened in the world.

Does anyone think think this will be as bad as it gets? Really?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/warning-the-literary-canon-could-make-students-squirm.html?_r=0

From the above article: "The presumption there is that students should not be forced to deal with something that makes them uncomfortable is absurd or even dangerous."

I would use the term "madness" to describe this, but it will have its defenders, plenty of them.

.

Colleges are no longer houses of learning, inquiring, and debate. They are 4 year pit stops between high school and employment or more education.

I don't blame the students, I blame the professors.

Strongly disagree. Have graduated 2 from the university, one is in masters program and the last one is over seas in Europe studying and graduating next May.
Many are what you claim but most are not. Depends also on the major but that is rapidly changing.
Mom and Dad HAVE learned that a degree in urban studies, sociology or Greek mythology will not get you anywhere.
And Mom and Dad are paying the tabs!

 

[Mac1958]

.

I wonder what the PC Police thinks of this?

Funny, no posts defending this yet.

.

 

[PaintMyHouse]

I wonder what the PC Police thinks of this?

That's because it's stupid, same as this thread.

 

[Mac1958]

I wonder what the PC Police thinks of this?

That's because it's stupid, same as this thread.

Right on cue.

"I don't wanna talk about it, it makes my end of the political spectrum look like nuts."



.

 

[PaintMyHouse]

I wonder what the PC Police thinks of this?

That's because it's stupid, same as this thread.

Right on cue.
"I don't wanna talk about it, it makes my end of the political spectrum look like nuts."

Lot's of stupid Americans around. I'm not interested in talking about some actress who forgot to wear her undies either. Get a real subject eh.

 

[Mac1958]

That's because it's stupid, same as this thread.

Right on cue.
"I don't wanna talk about it, it makes my end of the political spectrum look like nuts."

Lot's of stupid Americans around. I'm not interested in talking about some actress who forgot to wear her undies either. Get a real subject eh.

Translation of "real subject": "Something I'm not embarrassed to discuss".

Your end of the political spectrum is doing this, and you don't like seeing it in public discourse.

You'd rather it took place without the light of day, because you support this type of thought conformity.

Just admit it. Be honest for once. Your head won't explode, I swear.

.

 

[Zmrzlina]

I was not able to access the full article so you should look into that. Trigger warning have little to do with political correctness and more to do with warning victims of violence and sexual assault that the content they may be viewing may cause an anxiety attack due to PTSD. I was the victim of gang violence and just seeing the tattered clothes I wore that day threw me into an anxiety attack. A victim of a rape or assault who knows they have reactions like this to plot lines similar to their assaults know to avoid the content.

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Right on cue.
"I don't wanna talk about it, it makes my end of the political spectrum look like nuts."

Lot's of stupid Americans around. I'm not interested in talking about some actress who forgot to wear her undies either. Get a real subject eh.

Translation of "real subject": "Something I'm not embarrassed to discuss".

Your end of the political spectrum is doing this, and you don't like seeing it in public discourse.

You'd rather it took place without the light of day, because you support this type of thought conformity.

Just admit it. Be honest for once. Your head won't explode, I swear.

.

Hey stupid, stupid doesn't have a political spectrum, and most Americans are dumb as a box of hammers, like you. Let's mush on.

 

[editec]

Excellent op ed from Prof Epstein in today's WSJ.
What is wrong with people in college that they need a warning that book might be "offensive"? Are students today really that coddled that the mere appearance of the word "******" (a word that can not be repeated any more under any circumstances) will throw them into suicidal depression?
Joseph Epstein: A New Entry in the Annals of Academic Cravenness - WSJ.com

For those who have not yet caught up with it, in the academic world the phrase "trigger warning" means alerting students to books that might "trigger" deleterious emotional effects. Should a Jewish student be asked to read "Oliver Twist" with its anti-Semitic caricature of Fagin, let alone "The Merchant of Venice," whose central figure is the Jewish usurer Shylock? Should African-American students be required to read "Huckleberry Finn," with its generous use of the "n-word," or "Heart of Darkness," which equates the Congo with the end of rational civilization? Should students who are ardent pacifists be made to read about warfare in Tolstoy and Stendhal, or for that matter the Iliad? As for gay and lesbian students, or students who have suffered sexual abuse, or those who have a physical handicap . . . one could go on.


Pointing out the potentially damaging effects of books began, like so much these days, on the Internet, where intellectual Samaritans began listing such emotionally troublesome books on their blogs. Before long it was picked up by the academy. At the University of California at Santa Barbara, the student government suggested that all course syllabi contain trigger warnings. At Oberlin College the Office of Equity Concerns advised professors to steer clear of works that might be interpreted as sexist or racist or as vaunting violence.

more at the source.

That's so pathetic.

Really some student governments are simply total moronic.

 

[mudwhistle]

Right on cue.
"I don't wanna talk about it, it makes my end of the political spectrum look like nuts."

Lot's of stupid Americans around. I'm not interested in talking about some actress who forgot to wear her undies either. Get a real subject eh.

Translation of "real subject": "Something I'm not embarrassed to discuss".

Your end of the political spectrum is doing this, and you don't like seeing it in public discourse.

You'd rather it took place without the light of day, because you support this type of thought conformity.

Just admit it. Be honest for once. Your head won't explode, I swear.

.

Maybe talking about jobs would make him happy.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The Rabbi has never been a school board president.

I have, twice.

The nonsense that some parents from social con weirdoes to the right and lefty liberals on the other side, plus all the advocacy organizations, amazes the mind.

Folks, if you have kids in school, please go volunteer at your schools and the district.

The personnel need all the help they can get.

 

[The Rabbi]

The Rabbi has never been a school board president.

I have, twice.

The nonsense that some parents from social con weirdoes to the right and lefty liberals on the other side, plus all the advocacy organizations, amazes the mind.

Folks, if you have kids in school, please go volunteer at your schools and the district.

The personnel need all the help they can get.

Uh, Jake. This thread is about colleges and universities. You know, places you've never been.

 

[mudwhistle]

The Rabbi has never been a school board president.

I have, twice.

The nonsense that some parents from social con weirdoes to the right and lefty liberals on the other side, plus all the advocacy organizations, amazes the mind.

Folks, if you have kids in school, please go volunteer at your schools and the district.

The personnel need all the help they can get.

I'm not saying you're being honest for once, but you being a school board president?

No wonder our educational system sucks balls.

 

[Zmrzlina]

Trigger warnings are not censorship. Trauma trigger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia