A recent article in the Sunday Times made me squirm. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, there is a growing movement on college campuses to provide “trigger warnings” to college students that the materials they are about to read might upset them. Given as examples of works that might, in the future, require warnings were “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” for its racism, “The Great Gatsby,” for its “variety of scenes that reference gory, abusive, and misogynistic violence,” “The Merchant of Venice” for its anti-Semitism, and Greek mythology for its sexual images.

Opponents of the trigger warnings argue that the use of such warnings suggest a lack of confidence in the students. As college is meant to challenge the mindset of its students the use of such warnings would be counterintuitive. Opponents also argue that the use of the warnings would have a chilling effect in assigning reading material, i.e. one would be more apt to assign a book that did not require warnings.

Supporters of the warnings, most notably students at The University of Santa Barbara where a majority of students are veterans, argue that, as a result of their experience, and others similarly situated they have real issues that the schools could not anticipate. Use of the warnings, they urge, would address any possible issues the students may have and give the students the warning they need to effectively anticipate their possible reactions to the material.

I was shocked when I read this article. I have read all of the literature cited. While I may have had a negative reaction to some parts of the material, I would expect that the authors of the material intended for me to have that reaction. If I was given a warning about the possible negative content of the book, written by someone who was not the author, I wonder whether my response to the material may have been the same. Or, would I have even read it?

What do you think?