Triggers, Community, and Us

      Articles and editorials about “trigger warnings” have contributed to comments about how colleges and universities “infantilize” and “coddle” students, claiming we are in the “year of trigger warnings.” I believe these sources sometimes confuse what the intent behind a trigger warning is with the idea of offending someone.

     In 2015, the world is globalized and diverse, which means that opportunities to engage in challenging conversations exist around every corner. These challenges are growing opportunities, but in every opportunity for growth I’d assert there is a simultaneous need to balance the well-being of individuals who have experienced traumatic events. Pushing students positively supports growth; triggering students negatively impacts their well-being.

      President Barack Obama recently said, "I've heard some college campuses where they don't want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative or they don't want to read a book if it has language that is offensive to African-Americans or somehow sends a demeaning signal towards women. I gotta tell you, I don't agree with that either. I don't agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view."

     I recently read an article that uses this statement to support getting rid of trigger warnings. However, this actually brings to light an important distinction between being triggered and being offended.

    In fact, student development theory often references the positive impact exposure to different viewpoints can have on cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal development. Should we actively create spaces that offend students? No. Should we encourage environments within the walls of our unions that provide space to engage in critical conversations that push boundaries, challenge students’ ideas, and facilitate dialogue? Yes. By fostering safe spaces where students can engage in conversations about topics such as race, religion, sexuality, gender identity, and expression, we provide exposure, develop understanding of others, and engage in true dialogues.

     Now to trigger warnings, I must reaffirm that offending someone and triggering someone are two different things that can have murky connections. For example, I am offended when people say the fact that I am gay says something more about me than who I engage in intimate relationships with. I am triggered when I see a graphic representation of sexual assault that I hadn’t mentally or emotionally prepared to see because of identities I hold. These two things can happen in the same conversation, but I hope this simplistically demonstrates the difference between the two.

     Higher education is a place for transformative change. Unfortunately, it is also a place where students are victims of racially and sexually based crimes of violence. My truth is that the balance of these two needs is where the conversation about fostering dialogue on challenging topics and supporting those whose lived experiences leave them with scars is not optional.

Note: this content was originally created for the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) Commons.