Across the nation, college students are crying out for "safe spaces," which, to me, are becoming more of an issue than the reasons students want these spaces. These spaces are supposed to be a place where people can go to speak about their experiences without judgement. The problem with the safe spaces that college students around the country are asking for, though, is that they want to silence other voices.
Lately, college campuses have been strewn across newspapers, news of students protesting and calling for safe spaces on campus, and some even calling for their entire campus to be a safe space. In multiple instances of this, they are calling for a space only for a certain race, certain gender, or certain identity to be allowed in that space. The entire point of a safe space is to allow people to go there to not be judged and discuss their experiences, but if somebody from an identity not in line with what these protesters want enters the space, they would instantly be judged, harassed, and made to leave. Shouldn't a safe space be a safe space for all?
Another problem I see with safe spaces is when people are calling for their entire college to be a safe space. On one campus, students protested against a speaker coming to their college because they disagreed with her and said it "triggered" them. The speech was cancelled because of the protest. The students said that college should be a safe space. What they mean by this, based on their behavior, is that college should be an echo chamber of their beliefs, and they should not have to face things that are uncomfortable for them to confront. College is the place where beliefs and worldviews are supposed to be challenged, and they sure will be in the world after college. Even if a college were to try to make their campus "safe" by not confronting people's opinions, there would be no possible way to keep every person happy due to different views on the world.
I'm not against the idea of safe spaces. The way Concordia College does it is honestly the only way I can see safe spaces working and truly being safe for everyone. There are people trained to be something like a moderator for a safe space, and certain rooms are marked with safe space stickers. Any person who needs to go talk to somebody and not be judged for any reason can go there, no matter what their race, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. These are truly safe for all people to go to. After all, a safe space should be safe, but not to the point of infringing on others' rights.
