Univ of Chicago Gets Tough on Students

[greg775]

The university tells the students. ...

"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," the letter said.

 

Kids are going to have to grow up fast if they want to attend the University of Chicago. There will be no coddling of students at U of C.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/b...0825-story.html

[Jose Abreu]

Damn, I like this. Sister goes there, parents went there... who knows, maybe in a year, I'll be going there too (if I'm lucky enough to get in, of course). Nice to hear that they're no-nonsense when it comes to this stuff. I'm annoyed when I hear of speakers who are denied speech at campuses due to kids disagreeing with them. If you don't want to hear what they have to say, don't go.

 

edit- last couple sentences were referencing cancelled voluntary open speeches, not the smaller in-class ones

Edited August 26, 2016 by Jose Abreu

[Jose Abreu]

Also, if you can't have a mature discussion about an issue without a disagreement leading to crying and requesting a safe space, you probably don't belong in college anyway.

[LittleHurt05]

I have no idea what trigger warnings or safe spaces are, but I still don't get how this will stop protesters from disrupting speeches. If 300 kids come in chanting and screaming and refuse to leave a speech, are they actually going to arrest them? Is that what this is hinting at?

[southsider2k5]

Very happy to see this.

[ron883]

Damn, I like this. Sister goes there, parents went there... who knows, maybe in a year, I'll be going there too (if I'm lucky enough to get in, of course). Nice to hear that they're no-nonsense when it comes to this stuff. I'm annoyed when I hear of speakers who are denied speech at campuses due to kids disagreeing with them. If you don't want to hear what they have to say, don't go.

 

edit- last couple sentences were referencing cancelled voluntary open speeches, not the smaller in-class ones

That place truly is where fun goes to die. I highly advise going elsewhere if you want a fun college experience.

[NorthSideSox72]

Very happy to see this.

So am I. The college experience isn't just going to classes, it's supposed to be students' first time "on their own", learning to deal with life. The whole trend towards safe spaces and assorted other sterilizing B.S. is stupid and at odds with the greater purpose of education.

 

When some ignorant Trump supporter talks about liking him because "he's not P.C.", I cringe, because what they really means is "he's an asshole that makes me feel OK with treating others like garbage". But where I DO agree with the people who decry the "P.C. Police" is if the people listening to Trump or the like expect to get some sort of special protection from them. No, these are people you share your campus/city/country with, and as long as they aren't assaulting you, you'd better learn how to handle disagreements like an adult. Argue back, walk away, whatever, but in the real world you won't get some protective bubble in which to live in blissful ignorance of any reality outside the one you accept.

 

[Harry Chappas]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/...ideas.html?_r=0

 

 

[southsider2k5]

So am I. The college experience isn't just going to classes, it's supposed to be students' first time "on their own", learning to deal with life. The whole trend towards safe spaces and assorted other sterilizing B.S. is stupid and at odds with the greater purpose of education.

 

When some ignorant Trump supporter talks about liking him because "he's not P.C.", I cringe, because what they really means is "he's an asshole that makes me feel OK with treating others like garbage". But where I DO agree with the people who decry the "P.C. Police" is if the people listening to Trump or the like expect to get some sort of special protection from them. No, these are people you share your campus/city/country with, and as long as they aren't assaulting you, you'd better learn how to handle disagreements like an adult. Argue back, walk away, whatever, but in the real world you won't get some protective bubble in which to live in blissful ignorance of any reality outside the one you accept.

 

I can't say enough the difference between someone who just disagrees and how to intelligently engage someone and learn what they are thinking, and why. I don't know if it is social media making it easier to find people who agree with whatever you think that has made people so much less appreciative of anyone who doesn't fit in their tribe, or what it is. But there is no respect for anyone else anymore. Everyone is at war with someone else. Everyone is labeled to make it easier to tear down. Then that is used to justify going after someone else and the cycle repeats over and over again.

 

One of these days people will learn that you get more out of people you don't agree with, than the pack mentality with people you do agree with.

[StrangeSox]

It's very easy to build your own echo chamber these days whether you're in college or not.

[Jose Abreu]

So am I. The college experience isn't just going to classes, it's supposed to be students' first time "on their own", learning to deal with life. The whole trend towards safe spaces and assorted other sterilizing B.S. is stupid and at odds with the greater purpose of education.

This.

[Jose Abreu]

That place truly is where fun goes to die. I highly advise going elsewhere if you want a fun college experience.

I'm aware of how tough it is there. But if I get in, I may be willing to try

[NorthSideSox72]

It's very easy to build your own echo chamber these days whether you're in college or not.

No doubt. Social media amplifies it.

 

[bmags]

Pretty normal take on this:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/...er-matters.html

[greg775]

I have no idea what trigger warnings or safe spaces are, but I still don't get how this will stop protesters from disrupting speeches. If 300 kids come in chanting and screaming and refuse to leave a speech, are they actually going to arrest them? Is that what this is hinting at?

I think definitely those people busting up a speech would be kicked out or arrested.

[Balta1701]

The true irony is that your reactions in this thread is literally demanding a safe space for yourselves.

[Jose Abreu]

The true irony is that your reactions in this thread is literally demanding a safe space for yourselves.

How so? A "safe space" is an enclosed area where certain lines of thinking cannot be expressed. Where did anyone deny expression of other ideas in here?

[StrangeSox]

Pretty normal take on this:

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/...er-matters.html

 

That's a pretty solid take.

 

Delong thinks the letter is aimed not at students but at donors.

 

 

[StrangeSox]

Ken White, libertarian civil rights lawyer/blogger aka Popehat, has another pretty solid take here:

 

How The University of Chicago Could Have Done A Better Job Defending Free Speech