Is this a freedom letter - or not?

[Torie]

Some might view the letter below as literally a freedom letter. Others might say it is facilitating  the campus becoming an intellectual toxic waste dump. Your choose. It's from the Dean of Students to the incoming Freshmen class of my alma mater, the University of Chicago.

this letter[/url]

[Murica!]

Completely missed the point of trigger warnings and safe spaces, HL.

[Torie]

Completely missed the point of trigger warnings and safe spaces, HL.

What do you view the point of these strictures that was missed?

[Murica!]

Completely missed the point of trigger warnings and safe spaces, HL.

What do you view the point of these strictures that was missed?

Trigger warnings for example are not meant to keep people from "being offended"  but to warn people who may be forced to relive painful memories. For example a discussion of rape may cause a victim of sexual assault to have flashbacks or things of the sort. Safe spaces are not about anyone blocking out other opinions, but to allow people who have suffered trauma or abuse(such as the LGBT community) to meet others who have had similar experiences and not be criticized for being gay or trans or in a slightly more extreme example as victims of rape not having assholes claim that they are lying.

I truly hope that that made sense

[RI]

Massive FL

[TJ in Oregon]

Massive FL

^

The elite colleges who disagree with this letter are already massive intellectual toxic waste dumps.

[Illiniwek]

Love it.

[Green Line]

Freedom Letter.  Many of my Facebook friends are having a meltdown over it.

I also LOVE that this is indirectly taking a shot at DePaul University.  That administration has let their students walk all over them, and it's pathetic.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Big FL.  My Facebook feed is the most excited they have been since Hillary's emails or the undercover Planned Parenthood videos over this!  And, what schools have expressly disagreed with it?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Completely missed the point of trigger warnings and safe spaces, HL.

What do you view the point of these strictures that was missed?

Trigger warnings for example are not meant to keep people from "being offended"  but to warn people who may be forced to relive painful memories. For example a discussion of rape may cause a victim of sexual assault to have flashbacks or things of the sort. Safe spaces are not about anyone blocking out other opinions, but to allow people who have suffered trauma or abuse(such as the LGBT community) to meet others who have had similar experiences and not be criticized for being gay or trans or in a slightly more extreme example as victims of rape not having assholes claim that they are lying.

I truly hope that that made sense

That is what the concept was supposed to be originally I think, however it has extended well beyond that to protect people from being offended by certain ideas.   I agree with the spirit of the letter, but I think it could have been more clear about understanding that there is a place for the type of the thing you describe, so long as it is not carried out in a way that stifles debate and discussion, or shuts out challenging material from being part of courses.

[DavidB.]

Huge Freedom Letter (actually understands the entire point of a university)

[Mr. Reactionary]

Huge Freedom Letter (actually understands the entire point of a university)

[Mr. Smith]

Massive FL

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Completely missed the point of trigger warnings and safe spaces, HL.

What do you view the point of these strictures that was missed?

Trigger warnings for example are not meant to keep people from "being offended"  but to warn people who may be forced to relive painful memories. For example a discussion of rape may cause a victim of sexual assault to have flashbacks or things of the sort. Safe spaces are not about anyone blocking out other opinions, but to allow people who have suffered trauma or abuse(such as the LGBT community) to meet others who have had similar experiences and not be criticized for being gay or trans or in a slightly more extreme example as victims of rape not having assholes claim that they are lying.

I truly hope that that made sense

This hits the nail on the head.

To answer to OP, the letter is obviously disgusting. In fact, I would reconsider attending any university that could so boastfully send out a letter clearly sh-tting on folks who already face more than enough marginalization every day.

Safe spaces do not exist so that people can cower from intellectual debate. They exist because some "ideas" aren't based in intellectualism at all and are objectively harmful.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

Absolute freedom letter!

[Intell]

Love it.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Completely missed the point of trigger warnings and safe spaces, HL.

What do you view the point of these strictures that was missed?

Trigger warnings for example are not meant to keep people from "being offended"  but to warn people who may be forced to relive painful memories. For example a discussion of rape may cause a victim of sexual assault to have flashbacks or things of the sort. Safe spaces are not about anyone blocking out other opinions, but to allow people who have suffered trauma or abuse(such as the LGBT community) to meet others who have had similar experiences and not be criticized for being gay or trans or in a slightly more extreme example as victims of rape not having assholes claim that they are lying.

I truly hope that that made sense

This hits the nail on the head.

To answer to OP, the letter is obviously disgusting. In fact, I would reconsider attending any university that could so boastfully send out a letter clearly sh-tting on folks who already face more than enough marginalization every day.

Safe spaces do not exist so that people can cower from intellectual debate. They exist because some "ideas" aren't based in intellectualism at all and are objectively harmful.

You place some sort of premium on human suffering, as though that were the default.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I support trigger warnings and safe spaces for those who need them. The context in which this letter refers to those terms, however, is not what I support. People who need shelter from those who perpetuate ideals that differ from their own are feeble and shouldn't be able to dictate intellectual discourse, especially on a college campus. There are no safe spaces in real life. It is completely inappropriate to censor anyone, no matter how idiotic their views may be. It is up to individuals to decide whether or not to listen to or accept those messages.

[Figueira]

Horrible letter. The right wing obsession with safe spaces is getting frustrating.

[Xing]

While I do think that the terms "trigger warning" and "safe space" have been overused to the point where they've sort of lost their meaning, I think this letter misses the point of them. Yes, people shouldn't use them as a form of censorship or preventing students from getting exposure to alternative viewpoints, but shouldn't a student who has been a victim of rape at least be given fair warning if a class is going to cover literature that includes a rape scene, which could bring back actually traumatic memories for them?

There are certainly cases in which these should be used, though of course, they shouldn't be overused.

[NOT gonna be banned soon]

awesome

[DavidB.]

Horrible letter. The right wing obsession with safe spaces is getting frustrating.

lol

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Completely missed the point of trigger warnings and safe spaces, HL.

What do you view the point of these strictures that was missed?

Trigger warnings for example are not meant to keep people from "being offended"  but to warn people who may be forced to relive painful memories. For example a discussion of rape may cause a victim of sexual assault to have flashbacks or things of the sort. Safe spaces are not about anyone blocking out other opinions, but to allow people who have suffered trauma or abuse(such as the LGBT community) to meet others who have had similar experiences and not be criticized for being gay or trans or in a slightly more extreme example as victims of rape not having assholes claim that they are lying.

I truly hope that that made sense

This hits the nail on the head.

To answer to OP, the letter is obviously disgusting. In fact, I would reconsider attending any university that could so boastfully send out a letter clearly sh-tting on folks who already face more than enough marginalization every day.

Safe spaces do not exist so that people can cower from intellectual debate. They exist because some "ideas" aren't based in intellectualism at all and are objectively harmful.

You place some sort of premium on human suffering, as though that were the default.

It's lines of thought like this that make me support leaders who are not straight white men just because they are not straight white men. I don't mean to be offensive, but for some, oppression and being made to feel "less than" are constant. That's why safe spaces are needed, and I guess it's pretty clear that some people are incapable of understanding that, simply by virtue of their own rosier experiences. But to speak from one's own place of privilege and assume that safe spaces are simply safe havens from intellectual discourse is pretty ignorant. It's projecting a meaning onto these places that only comes from one perspective... and that perspective seems to be fear of owning up to the fact that people with privilege are sometimes complicit in making safe spaces necessary in the first place.

Yes, it does happen that safe spaces are abused by those who want an echo chamber. But again, it is not the primary purpose of them, and this letter just completely spits on the people who need these places most. It's a pretty elitist and wilfully ignorant way of looking at the safe space.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Horrible letter. The right wing obsession with safe spaces is getting frustrating.

lol

Uh...? Do you really think people are happy that they sometimes feel like they need a safe space? Do you really think people on the left like them? It would be fantastic if they weren't needed at all, but it's not for a person with privilege to decide for people without it that these spaces are obsolete. The only people who are offended by safe spaces are people who are too fragile to own up to the fact that society collectively makes them necessary. What is really so threatening about the [legitimate] safe space?

[evergreenarbor]

While I do think that the terms "trigger warning" and "safe space" have been overused to the point where they've sort of lost their meaning, I think this letter misses the point of them. Yes, people shouldn't use them as a form of censorship or preventing students from getting exposure to alternative viewpoints, but shouldn't a student who has been a victim of rape at least be given fair warning if a class is going to cover literature that includes a rape scene, which could bring back actually traumatic memories for them?

There are certainly cases in which these should be used, though of course, they shouldn't be overused.

Exactly. I think this letter was written to gain publicity, not for any other reason.