Safe Spaces Do we need them Essays - , Term Papers

Safe Spaces: Do we need them? One of the most recent debates to plague not only the psychology community, but also our university society is the need for safe spaces. This has been an ongoing issue for several years now, but it came to the forefront of the news after the University of Chicago made a declarative statement to new students attesting that they will not require safe spaces and trigger warnings in classes. They cited that they believed in this decision based on the idea that trigger warnings infringe upon academic freedom and that safe spaces create a place where people have permission to hide from beliefs that are not their own. They cite these and others as impediments to academic growth (Chicago Tribune). This incident has challenged the education community and begged the question, do we really need safe spaces? Are they an asset or a hindrance to student success? The two sides of the argument propose that on the one hand, safe spaces can help those who suffer from legitimate triggers from trauma and that they can be an aid in social change and awareness, while the other side, such as the University of Chicago, believes that safe spaces further disadvantage minorities and prevent students from learning viewpoints other than their own. The popular belief seems to be that while the two sides may never agree on the influences of safe spaces, they should not be required nor banned. Some universities have banned safe spaces, like the University of Chicago, but others have implemented them campus wide. But overall, it tends to remain a case by case issue on how it's implemented. Most believe tt should be the individual choice of a professor or student to implement these in their studies. At the end of the day, each administration and each faculty member are doing what they think is right for their students. The concept of safe spaces stems from the need for people faced with severe triggers or those who have been marginalized previously to have a place where they can feel comfortable and secure. It is designed to be a welcoming and open environment. In its conception, safe spaces allow students to thrive in their academics by having a place where they feel they can be safe and honest about who they are and what they feel. Trigger warnings also serve a safety purpose. College women are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than any other group (Wallin-Ruschman). As a result, there has been a push for professors and faculty to include trigger warnings for sensitive subjects. If a professor is at a part of his lecture in which he or she is discussing a topic such as abuse, a warning beforehand gives students a chance to mentally prepare or exit the room. Some trigger warnings would even be given as early as registration, so that students would know whether or not they could handle taking the class. Trigger warnings would apply to a wide range of topics and would vary in their use. Administrations have come to accept that their student population consists of a vast number of students from all over the world, with all different experiences. In this way, pro-safe space advocates believe it is now more than ever necessary to allow safe spaces on campus. With such an eclectic group of different students to care for, safe spaces and trigger warnings aid administrations in seeing that all students find a support system where they can feel secure. Trigger warnings allow students with all kinds of backgrounds to feel safe in their studies, while safe spaces give them a support network. As the research on safe spaces continues, other positive uses and ideas have been discovered. J. Wallin-Ruschman and M. Patka introduced a study in which they discerned that safe spaces have the potential to create prominent communities that create social change. The idea is that a safe place can be a separate and sheltered place from mainstream culture where like minded people can gather, discuss, and mobilize social change. These ideas have gained traction in a number of areas. This study found that safe spaces can be a powerful tool