Blueprint for Reform: Trigger Warnings is a policy guide for state legislators and university trustees. It examines the prevalence and impact of trigger warnings in higher education, highlighting concerns about their effectiveness and potential negative consequences on academic freedom and student resilience.
Key Recommendations:
- Discourage Mandatory Trigger Warnings: Universities should advise against the compulsory use of trigger warnings, allowing instructors the discretion to include them based on their judgment.
- Promote Syllabus Transparency: Make all course syllabi publicly accessible well in advance, enabling students to make informed decisions about course content and their capacity to engage with it.
- Uphold Academic Freedom: Ensure that instructors are never obligated to use trigger warnings, thereby preserving their autonomy in teaching and fostering open academic discourse.
- Adopt Free Expression Statements: Universities should endorse statements supporting free expression, such as the Chicago Principles, to affirm their commitment to open dialogue and the exchange of ideas.
- Support Faculty on Controversial Topics: Provide robust support to instructors who engage with controversial subjects, safeguarding their right to explore and discuss diverse perspectives without fear of retribution.
These recommendations aim to balance sensitivity to student needs with the preservation of academic freedom and the promotion of intellectual resilience within higher education institutions.
