• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Life / Health / What You Need to Know About Trigger Warnings

What You Need to Know About Trigger Warnings

January 11, 2016 //  by Caroline Crook

Shares32FacebookTweet

Rated R for Violence, Grisly Images, Some Nudity and Sexual Content. Photo contains graphic image; see story below for details. Viewer Discretion is Advised.

The concept has been around for a while, but in the case of trigger warnings, the terminology is relatively new and the intention a bit different. It’s a quick word of caution right at the beginning of movies, presentations, art shows and more about potentially harmful content.

So what’s different? What’s the conversation here?

Let’s start with a little history. The concept of trauma triggers has been around since the 1900s, but trigger warnings have only recently become a big conversation on college campuses–especially after the nation-wide call for investigation into cases of sexual violence on campus. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, college-aged women are three times more likely to be victims of sexual assault.

Now that these numbers are finally coming to light, more and more campuses are calling for sensitivity on subjects that could potentially force survivors to relive one of the worst experiences of their lives.

I’m a student at GW, where this conversation is a big part of campus life. Students are asking professors to add trigger warnings to materials on their syllabi, and even to make some of the more potentially damaging materials (graphic videos, personal narratives, etc.) optional for students.

I hear about this on a daily basis, but when I went back home and mentioned it to my family, they had hardly heard of trigger warnings. The typical response for the unacquainted is something along the lines of “I’ve never heard of this. What’s the controversy?”

Here’s the controversy. There are many people who think trigger warnings are detrimental to campus life, and there are three big arguments against the implementation of trigger warnings into academia.

The first argument is that they don’t work. Richard J. McNally, author of “Hazards Ahead: The Problem with Trigger Warnings, According to the Research,” wrote: “According to a rigorous analysis by the Institute of Medicine, exposure therapy is the most efficacious treatment for PTSD, especially in civilians who have suffered trauma such as sexual assault.”

The second argument is that they make people too sensitive. In her article “In College and Hiding from Scary Ideas,” New York Times columnist Judith Shulevitz argued that college students need to broaden their field of vision while at school. Implementing things like trigger warnings is just shielding us from unfamiliar ideas and preventing us from seeing the world in different lights.

The final argument is that they take away freedom of speech. In an article by the Huffington Post, Middlebury Professor Laurie Essig argues that putting in trigger warnings infantilizes children. She is not alone. Many university professors believe that trigger warnings are erasing the opportunity for hard-hitting, progressive conversations about sensitive topics in classrooms.

So do these people have a point? It’s important to recognize that uncomfortable conversations will happen in life, and the absolute refusal to have these conversations is not what learning is about. But trigger warnings can be legitimately helpful to survivors who want to learn without feeling forced to relive their experiences in a college classroom.

Let’s rehash these arguments.

“They don’t work.” This depends on how trigger warnings are meant to “work.” The Institute of Medicine is not wrong; trigger warnings don’t offer a cure to trauma. But they’re not meant to be a cure. Students aren’t asking for a change to syllabi, merely a warning that allows survivors to take a deep breath and brace themselves before absorbing any potentially triggering material. How is that different from your average movie rating?

“They make people too sensitive.” But this is exactly what campuses are pushing for: a little more sensitivity and empathy towards survivors and the very real problem of sexual violence on campus. Justin Peligri in his GW Hatchet article “Why We Need Trigger Warnings,” explained that pushing for sensitivity is in fact the right thing to do for those one in five college-aged women who will experience a sexual assault on campus. But it goes beyond survivors; trigger warnings are meant to prepare other students who’d like to be in the right mindset when entering the classroom.

“They take away freedom of speech.” The idea that trigger warnings stifle new ideas and conversations in class implies that they act as a kind of censorship. Trigger warnings are warnings, not suppressors. They allow audiences to make an informed decision about what they read, watch and listen to. When people warn their audiences about the contents of their published material, everyone can freely choose their level of engagement in the media. Isn’t that the opposite of censorship?

Trigger warning advocates on campuses are accused of everything from hypersensitivity to self-infantilizing. Students ask for advanced notice on emotionally charged subjects discussed in class and get compared to children covering their ears and yelling, “La la la! I’m not listening!” When students ask for a warning, people automatically assume that means they don’t want to hear about the sensitive topic.

But that’s what college is for: discussing sensitive topics. What’s the harm in knowing about it beforehand?

Shares32FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Health Life

About Caroline Crook

Caroline is a junior at GW who wears too much flannel and drinks too much coffee. She looks up every movie before she watches it because she needs to know if the dog dies. She currently studies English with a minor in Human Services.

You May Also Like

mind over matter

Mind Over Matter: Grappling with My Mom’s Cancer Diagnosis

places to run

Get Moving Gators: 10 Best Places to Run in Gainesville

Keeping Up with the Coronavirus: How is it Spread?

spin class

CM’s Top 10 Schools for Health and Fitness Fanatics

Counseling at a table

Seeking Counseling in College: Why Your Mental Health Will Thank You

covid-19 dating

Your Ultimate Guide to Dating Safely During COVID-19

Juul

Yeah, I’m That Girl Still Addicted to the Juul in 2020

halloween

10 Best Ways to Celebrate a COVID-Safe Halloween

College-19: Back to Campus During a Global Pandemic

COVID-19

PSA: COVID-19 Isn’t Over — Reasons You Should Still Wear a Mask

How Not to Take Your College Final Exams

I Don’t Cry: My Great Airport Meltdown

Battling Poland Syndrome: How I Learned to Love My Flaws

girl on spin bike

College Fitness Chewed Me Up and Spit Me Out, Here’s Why

hospital

A Trip to the Hospital: A Guide to a College Student’s Least Exciting Vacation

A Quick-Start Guide to Your New Quarantine Hobby: Meal Prep

Instagram’s 5 Best Fitness Influencers’ Workouts

How to Survive the Apocalypse: Coronavirus Edition

social isolation

COVID-19: The Costs of Social Isolation

How to Stay Active

12 Ways to Stay Active While Working from Home

Insomnia

Battling Insomnia Through College

Zoom Dating

Keeping Romance Alive in the Days of Social Distancing

Arial view of Dartmouth College's campus.

Campus is Closed: Where Do I Go?

relationship with yourself

Building a Healthy Relationship with Yourself during Quarantine

Previous Post: « 10 Meals that Won’t Break the Bank
Next Post: 10 Ways to Kick Off the New Year in Athens »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

dancing dreams
63

Saying Goodbye to My Dreams of Dancing

50

Stargazing in the Sand: My Trip to Terlingua, Texas

42

How My Childhood Bully Followed Me to College

9

Top 10 Covid-19 Safe Spots to Explore Near UCLA

Brass-colored 21 foil balloons inside a room.
8

10 Spots to Celebrate Your 21st Birthday Near UCLA

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.