[Week 4] New Forms of Subliminal, Technocratic Repression at the University

Leslie Do
ASA 2, Professor Valverde
TA: Josh Watkins, Section: A01
October 11th, 2015

New Forms of Subliminal, Technocratic Repression at the University
Orwellian Frontiers in Academia

In their essay "The Coddling of the American Mind," Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt argue that trigger warnings suppress intellectual inquiry and open forums at the university. Additionally, trigger warnings act as the university's social control mechanisms for repressing the dissemination of the truth; also, trigger warnings serve as a gateway for the university to socially engineer and control its subjects -- especially students. I witnessed with Lukianoff's and Haidt's observations, and I am speculating that the university administrations planted trigger warnings and safe spaces to emotionally pacify students and train them to become hostile student, "politically correct" police towards professors (Lukianoff, 2015.)

Consequently, trigger warnings and safe spaces do not teach students to protect themselves in the post-graduate world - especially since trigger warnings and safe spaces do not exist in the work force. Trigger warnings are gateways for university admins to infantilize students, to train students to police their professors, and to disrupt the evolution of studies and disciplines at universities by silencing critical thinking (Lukianoff, 2015.) Rather than buy into the illusion of trigger warnings and safe spaces, students should learn how to verbally protect their legal rights and learn how to protect themselves through self-advocacy. 

Question

How can we undo the intellectual suppression mandated by the trigger warnings movement?

Bibliography 

Lukianoff, Greg, and Jonathan Haidt. "The Coddling of the American Mind." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 10 Aug. 2015. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.