![University of Chicago Acceptance Letter]()
The University of Chicago sent an extremely interesting acceptance letter to the students who were lucky enough to get into the selective school. In addition to welcoming the prospective students, the letter addresses the controversial ideas behind “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings,” informing the students that these are not concepts they’ll find at the University of Chicago.
Here’s a short quote from the acceptance letter:
Once here will you discover that one of the University of Chicago’s defining characteristic is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression. This is captured in the University’s faculty report on freedom of expression. Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn, without fear of censorship. Civility and mutual respect are vital to all of us, and freedom of expression does not mean the freedom to harass or threaten others. You will find that we expect members of our community to be engaged in rigorous debate, discussion and even disagreement. At times this may challenge you and even cause discomfort.
Our commitment to academic freedom means that 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” where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.
Safe spaces and trigger warnings have been big buzzwords at college lately, mostly associated with negative connotations in the media (ourselves included). From what we can tell, a lot of people don’t agree that small groups of individuals should be able to stop larger (or similarly small) groups from engaging in activities or conversations, simply by using the word “safe space.” For example, at Yale last Halloween, a group of students didn’t agree that certain Halloween costumes should be allowed because of “cultural appropriation.” A respected Yale professor wrote an open letter to the campus, disagreeing with the idea that everyone should be 100% safe (but safe from violence, obviously), and a group of students got together and protested that idea.
A week-long conversation about Halloween costumes at Yale University came to a very tense point this weekend when students gathered...
But Yale certainly isn’t the only school who have had students cause a disturbance over safe spaces and trigger warnings. In fact, Jezebel (sigh, we know), points out that at the University of Chicago, members of the faculty wrote a letter protesting students who were protesting. “…Protests that threaten safety, silence speakers with different points of view, prevent members of our community from listening to speakers, or prevent campus events from proceeding diminish freedom of expression.”
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The faculty makes a really good point that all opinions should be welcome, except for those opinions that seek to silence those in disagreement. Which is sadly what things like “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings” have been used for. Once these were important things for colleges to have, and they still are, but the communities today are generally much safer places for people of varying sexualities. Similarly, “trigger warnings” were progressive ways to protect victims of violence or sexual assault from upsetting material that might cause them to relapse. But ultimately, these definitions have changed to suit the needs of those who feel one way and don’t want to hear about any other options.
We applaud the University of Chicago for their stance on the ideas of “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings,” solely because we know that the school will still do its best to protect their students and faculty from any real danger. It’s a step in the right direction, and one we’re sure that will benefit incoming students of the University of Chicago.
Here’s the full transcript of the letter:
Welcome and congratulations on your acceptance to the College at the University of Chicago. Earning a place in our community of scholars is no small achievement and we are delighted that you selected Chicago to continue your intellectual journey.
Once here will you discover that one of the University of Chicago’s defining characteristic is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression. This is captured in the University’s faculty report on freedom of expression. Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn, without fear of censorship. Civility and mutual respect are vital to all of us, and freedom of expression does not mean the freedom to harass or threaten others. You will find that we expect members of our community to be engaged in rigorous debate, discussion and even disagreement. At times this may challenge you and even cause discomfort.
Our commitment to academic freedom means that 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” where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.
Fostering the free exchange of ideas reinforces a related University priority–building a campus that welcome people of all backgrounds. Diversity of opinion and background is a fundamental strength of our community. The members of our community must have the freedom to espouse and explore a wide range of ideas.
I am enclosing a short monograph by Dean John W. Boyer, the Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor in History and Dean of the College, which provides a helpful primer. This monograph, entitled Academic Freedom and the Modern University: The Experience of the University of Chicago, recounts the history of debate, and even scandal, resulting from our commitment to academic freedom.
If you are interested in some of the source material mentioned in Dean Boyer’s book, you can find links to the important reports (e.g. the Kalven report, the Stone report, etc.) at the website maintained by our University provost at http://freeexpression.uchicago.edu/.
Again, welcome to the University of Chicago. See you in September!
