*Trigger warning: This article contains brief mentions of rape and suicide.
The term “trigger warning” is not just Generation Z lingo but a term that has existed long before we came along. The idea of trigger warnings came in the 1990s on feminist message boards, where they warned readers of the presence of graphic descriptions and conversations about rape. Since then, they have appeared in shows, movies, and even websites that list all possible triggering material in any movie, show, book, or play. Most of the time, we can avoid watching something that could trigger unpleasant emotions, but what about in schools? What about having to read triggering material for a grade? This is the debate that’s happening at Cornell University right now.
A student at Cornell University and a member of the undergraduate student assembly drafted a resolution urging instructors to provide warnings on the syllabus about traumatic content that might be in the class. This resolution was inspired by the fact that a student was reading a book with a graphic rape scene which triggered her since her friend was recently raped. The resolution was eventually approved by the student assembly and then passed to the university’s president, Martha E. Pullack. In less than a week, the resolution was denied. She responded in a letter saying, “We cannot accept this resolution, as the actions it recommends would infringe on our core commitment to academic freedom and freedom of inquiry, and are at odds with the goals of a Cornell education.” She also added that it “would violate our faculty’s fundamental right to determine what and how to teach, preventing them from adding, throughout the semester, any content that any student might find upsetting.” Needless to say, Cornell gave a hard “no” to trigger warnings. But why? Oftentimes, Generation Z gets the stereotype that we are soft or “snowflakes” and “triggered easily.” But, 70% of college students report that they’ve been exposed to at least one traumatic event. College students are one of the most vulnerable populations when it comes to mental health, with one in four students having a diagnosable mental illness and 23.7% of them being at higher risk for suicide. With these statistics, it seems unreasonable to deny students the right to protect their mental health when it comes to class material. But it all comes down to each professor and what they feel is necessary. So, what do they think?
- Professor’s opinion
-
I reached out to a professor I am pretty familiar with, my dad. My dad is a college professor who teaches English and a class on the history of curse words, which, as you can imagine, has some sensitive material. He says that he gives students a heads-up so the sensitive material doesn’t surprise them and that “It doesn’t take any time or effort for me to do that, and it could make a big difference for a student.” But should it be a university-wide requirement? Well, he says no because of a couple of reasons. One, it’s his job to know his students and prepare them for the material, and the less interference, the better. Also, trigger warnings appear around so many issues that aren’t just suicide and rape. There can be trigger warnings for economic inequality, eating disorders, throwing up, etc. So, how would a university make a list that addresses triggering material, and will it be representative? He said that “an official institutional policy would be impractical because it would have to spell out specific situations.”
On the other hand, there are some classes that just are inherently triggering. If you are taking a psychology course, you can’t offer a trigger warning before every lecture because it is obvious that you are going to encounter triggering material like mental illness. A colleague of my dad teaches about state violence and human rights violations. He says he still gives warnings at the start of the course to help students decide whether the class will still be right for them. He also says that if he is assigning a documentary that has graphic depictions of violence, he will offer a written summary or article as an alternative. He also says it’s important to provide trigger warnings because he believes that “some amount of personal agency over the conditions and ways we learn is important to the learning process.”
- student opinion
-
I am a student who heavily relies on trigger warnings. As a survivor of suicide and sexual assault, it is important for me to check content for warnings for my own well-being. At the start of the semester after my experience with suicide, I had to ask every professor for trigger warnings, but most of them forgot to give me a heads-up before sensitive material came. So, seeing this veto of the resolution enraged me. First of all, the veto seems to be favoring the rights and freedom of professors rather than the students and their mental health. The ask for trigger warnings for material is not to “violate faculty’s fundamental right to determine what and how to teach.” The resolution wasn’t asked to stop teaching sensitive material but rather for professors to be more sensitive about the material they are teaching. I believe trigger warnings can help improve students’ well-being in the course, build rapport with professors and overall enhance learning. They can be essential to students living with trauma.
The trigger warning resolution at Cornell, although it was denied, is still a step in the right direction. It starts the conversation around trigger warnings and, more importantly, what it’s like to be a student living with mental illness.
Resources: