果冻传媒app官方

Table of Contents

Northwestern University President Dismisses Concerns Over Trigger Warnings and Microaggressions

In the wake of the University of Chicago鈥檚 message to incoming students about academic freedom, administrators across the country have begun to weigh in on their own campuses to let students know their views on the issue.

At Northwestern University (NU), president Morton Schapiro addressed new students at Monday鈥檚 convocation, and took a swipe at concerns over the phenomena of trigger warnings and microaggressions. , Schapiro called those who deny the existence of microaggressions 鈥渋diots,鈥 saying that microaggressions 鈥渃ut you to the core.鈥 Schapiro also had sharp words for those with concerns about the effect of trigger warnings on academic freedom and intellectual development. As The Daily Northwestern :

Schapiro also criticized those who 鈥渃onflate鈥 the use of trigger warnings with undermining the First Amendment, saying students should be warned about potentially traumatic content, such as the Holocaust or lynching of black people.

鈥淚f they say that 鈥 you shouldn鈥檛 be warned to prepare yourself psychologically for that, that somehow that鈥檚 coddling, those people are lunatics,鈥 Schapiro said.

Of course, Schapiro鈥檚 compassion seems a bit selective. No such compassion was on display when NU subjected professor Laura Kipnis to a , based on publicly available information, about sex-related issues at NU and beyond. Nor did Schapiro show much concern when NU鈥檚 marketing department censored a faculty-published bioethics journal over concerns that an article written by a Syracuse University professor about sexual experiences with a nurse during his rehabilitation after being paralyzed would damage the university鈥檚 brand鈥攍eading to the imposition of a content review board for the journal and historian Alice Dreger's resignation in protest.

And even putting aside the lack of intellectual engagement exhibited by simply calling those who disagree with him 鈥渓unatics鈥 and 鈥渋diots,鈥 Schapiro is engaging in blatant hypocrisy. Readers may recall that in 2014, Wendy Kaminer was accused of using an 鈥渁bleist slur鈥 for using the word 鈥渃razy鈥 in an argument about the acceptability of saying taboo words in an intellectual setting. And across the country to the alleged negative effects of words like 鈥渃razy鈥 and 鈥渟tupid鈥 because they may demean those with mental health issues. So where does that leave Schapiro鈥檚 use of 鈥渓unatics鈥 and 鈥渋diots鈥? Schapiro is not only deliberately insulting those he disagrees with, but he is apparently doing so in a way that is鈥攊n his own worldview鈥攐ffensive to marginalized groups.

Let鈥檚 be clear: compassion and sensitivity are not bad things. But Schapiro should remember that he is chiefly responsible for NU students鈥 intellectual development, which necessarily includes the ability to confront, grapple with, and discuss difficult and uncomfortable issues. He should not be so quick to dismiss concerns that about terrible events in our human history (to use Schapiro鈥檚 own example) is a betrayal of that responsibility.

Recent Articles

FIRE鈥檚 award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.

Share