Pros And Cons Of Trigger Warnings

Although trigger warnings are beneficial for some students, it can harm the education of others preventing them from learning about serious subjects that are not the most comfortable to learn. There are, however, scenarios that a good majority of people have to face from time to time in the real world, so there shouldn’t be any reason that students shouldn't be prepared for these serious issues. These issues can range from being a victim of rape, domestic abuse, or genocide, people may have unfortunately gone through in their life. These issues may prompt the request for trigger warnings in college classes. However, there is a possibility that students will want to opt-out of material that covers these subjects. Although trigger warnings are beneficial for some students, they do more harm than good. …show more content…
However, for those who have a valid excuse to be exempt from classes that view graphic material like rape or genocide would be students who have Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD). According to Richson “Is it too much to ask that a rape survivor be forewarned when a professor is about to cover material on the topic or to ask that a person who was confronted with a racial slur and beaten up be allowed to leave the lecture hall before course material send her or him into a tizzy of hypervigilance, a hallmark characteristic of PTSD”(97). So, for students with PTSD it provides them the comfort of being able to be excused from having to view material that may trigger flashbacks to the event. It can be seen as cruel or morally incorrect to present such content to someone who would get flashbacks or become mentally