Much has been said in recent years about the use of trigger warnings in college classrooms. While many support them as a means of making students feel safer, others have argued that they represent a sort of “intellectual coddling” of young adults. Some even claim that it is a form of censorship, imposed so that students do not have to hear opinions or arguments that they do not agree with. However, these arguments reflect a fundamental misunderstanding not just of what trigger warnings are for, but what they are.
Simply put, a trigger warning is a statement that lets people know if something contains potentially upsetting or traumatic content such as sexual assault or abuse. Their purpose is not to limit any kind of discussion or “censor” certain topics but simply to allow people to mentally prepare themselves. Say that a book being discussed in a classroom has a rape scene. If there is a trigger warning for this rape scene, that does not mean that they will skip the scene or not discuss it in class. It is just there so that students are emotionally and mentally prepared for it.
College campuses are and always have been hotbeds for political discussion and self-discovery. It is often during college that students may become more politically active than they previously were, either because they did not feel comfortable expressing their opinions at home, or because they have found that these things now affect them more than they used to.
The point is, college is a place for political expression. It is natural that people will encounter viewpoints different than their own, and it is healthy for them to experience this. Trigger warnings have never been about avoiding viewpoints different from your own.
Say that a student is a victim of rape. She will probably suffer flashbacks of the assault for a long time. If this student does not have access to trigger warnings for rape, these flashbacks can seriously disrupt her daily life. She may withdraw socially, suffer guilt and depression, and her grades could drop. A student who does not have the tools they need to deal with a traumatic experience will have a much harder time succeeding academically than one who does not have this problem. Statistically, an estimated 7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD in their life with women being twice as likely to develop it.
Some argue that trigger warnings do more harm than good because exposure is the best way to overcome triggers. Psychiatrist and professor Metin Basoglu stated in an interview with The Daily Telegraph "instead of encouraging a culture of avoidance, [the media] should be encouraging exposure. Most trauma victims avoid situations that remind them of the experience. Avoidance means helplessness and helplessness means depression."
However, this ignores the fact that the process of being exposed to one’s triggers is done in a controlled, safe environment, through multiple therapy sessions, and with a trained professional. Being forced to confront one’s triggers in chaotic, everyday environments is extremely different than when you are doing so with the help of a therapist. Exposure is absolutely necessary in order to overcome trauma, but it must be done with the help of a professional, not on your own.
I have personal experience with this. I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which in the past, has turned into psychotic delusions and paranoia. For a long time, zombies were a trigger for me. Zombies are kind of an unusual trigger and not one that professors would normally consider. However, I was taking a class where the topic of zombies might come up. I met with the professor after class and explained to him my situation. He was extremely understanding, and he told me that he would let me know if the topic was going to come up. If it did, I didn’t have to attend the class that day and that was it. I did not expect him to change his curriculum for me. All I wanted was to know if this topic was going to come up so that I could be emotionally prepared.
I had another class that was about black women’s studies. At the beginning of the semester, the professor warned the class that we would sometimes have to discuss rape and violence against women and that if this was triggering for anyone, to do what they needed in order to be prepared and take care of themselves. Not once in a class I have taken has any discussion ever been “censored” because of a trigger warning.
This is not to say I don’t have issues with trigger warning proponents as well. In my experience as a student, I have met people who do not responsibly handle their triggers. It is not your fault if you are accidentally triggered by something without warning. However, it is your responsibility to know your own triggers and take care of yourself. For example, I met a person who said that the popular series "13 Reasons Why" was dangerous because it was triggering and that they themselves had been triggered by the graphic suicide scene. I asked them if they saw the trigger warning at the beginning of the episode, and they said yes. I then asked them why they watched it, and they didn’t have an answer.
Another issue I have is that some people use trigger warnings not to deal with their trauma. While it is good to have trigger warnings, your goal should be that someday you no longer need to use them. That means going to therapy and working to overcome your trauma. Obviously, this can be made difficult by things like money issues, lack of access to therapy, and things like that. However, if you do have access to therapy, you have no excuse not to be working on your trauma. As Marcus Parks, the host of the mental health podcast Sex and Other Human Activities, said, “Your mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility.”
The idea that colleges are turning into a place where no one is allowed to discuss potentially upsetting or controversial ideas, all because of trigger warnings, is a little ridiculous, considering that college is where you can take courses like “Childhood Sexual Violence in Film” or “Black Lives Matter.”
Nobody wants to censor controversial ideas on campus. All that people are trying to do is make education more accessible to students who suffer from mental health issues. If somebody has access to trigger warnings, that only makes it easier for them to succeed both academically and in their personal life.
