Last week, University of Chicago Dean of Students Jay Ellison sent his yearly welcome letter addressing the incoming freshman class. In the letter, Ellison bluntly stated the University’s stance on one of the most heated debates on college campuses in recent history — the implementation of trigger warnings and intellectual “safe spaces.”
The letter was straightforward. “You will discover that one of the University of Chicago’s defining characteristics is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression,” it read. “We do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces.”
Ellison’s letter is a preemptive move on a campus that hasn’t been at the center of the political correctness debate. The letter was a strong rebuke to a movement of protests against free speech that has consumed college campuses throughout the United States in recent years.
These protests have attracted a large amount of media attention these past few months, and have begun to cause university administrations across the country more than just a headache. Some alumni, soured by this movement of protests in their alma maters, have begun to withhold their donations. While it wasn’t the first institution to take a stand against this trend, the letter signals university administrations are increasingly unwilling to indulge impositions that could endanger academic freedom — while also discrediting the idea that college students should be treated as paying customers.
Here on Grounds, the discussion on trigger warnings has been relatively subdued, though some faculty have begun to share their perspectives on the matter. History Prof. Jeff Rossman told a panel, “Suppose you’re a student who had an experience with homelessness… We can’t… have a warning for all of that and yet we are also conveying certain priorities by… automatically putting trigger warnings for certain types of material but not for others.”
In 2010, the University eliminated policies that restricted the free speech of students and faculty members and earned a “green light” rating by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Our institution was founded on “the illimitable freedom of the human mind.” If the administration wants to maintain these foundational values, it should follow the example of the University of Chicago and make its stance on the issue clear. While a conversation about these issues is important, we should be careful not to adopt policies that could have a chilling effect on speech. As the University of Chicago demonstrated, colleges have no obligation to satisfy every demand college students make — especially unreasonable ones.
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