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A comment on Free speech is last century. Today’s students want the ‘right to be comfortable’. Parent comment

Re:Free speech is last century. Today’s students want the ‘r... by A_COMPUTER on Saturday December 27, 2014 @02:29AM (#8801977)
"Trigger warning" and "safe space" are two terms that have sensible, specific definitions, but in practice are very frequently used in an informal, overly expansive way that renders them ridiculous.
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Re:Free speech is last century. Today’s students want the ‘r... by millstone on Saturday December 27, 2014 @03:36AM (#8802078)
Right, so it's a matter of degree. A "trigger warning" policy may be sensible in some form, but can be taken too far.

Oberlin College's infamous policy [1] (now tabled) shows this dynamic at its worst, warning faculty that "anything could be a trigger" and encouraging them to "remove triggering material when it does not contribute directly to the course learning goals." Such a policy pressures faculty into avoiding controversial subjects altogether, and gives students a lever to remove content they would rather not see taught.

Happily this policy has since been revised, showing that faculty can successfully fight to maintain their academic autonomy.

1: http://web.archive.org/web/20131222174936/http:/new.oberlin....

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