Something that has been discussed in the news lately is the call for safe spaces on college campuses across the United States. While some people argue that safe spaces are necessary, others say they are more of a hindrance to education. I, personally, agree with the latter. Safe spaces, except when being used by students attempting to escape racism or discrimination, are wholly not needed.
For hundreds of years, college campuses have been a place of learning and critical thinking. Colleges, through the professors they hire, are supposed to challenge their students' ideas and beliefs. They do this, not with the intention of offending, but so the students can grow and mature as scholars. The purpose of colleges is to produce intelligent young adults who are capable of thinking for themselves and who don't blindly believe whatever is told to them. Colleges are here to produce people, not robots.
Unfortunately, this generation of college students was raised by parents who fought their children's battles for them. When their children came home with bad grades on their report cards, instead of assuming their children were not working hard enough, they blamed the teachers for being prejudiced. They shielded their children from ideas and problems that may upset them, creating a kind of safe space at home.
Now that these children are out of their childhood homes, they are being exposed to ideas and opinions that differ from their own. Instead of having their parents there to shield them from things that they may not like, they demand that the college do it instead. This has created an environment in which professors are more concerned about offending their students rather than the substance of their course material. Instead of learning how to think for themselves, and do it critically, students are being taught watered down topics "for their own good."
By the time you are in college, say around the age of 18-23 years old, you should be mature enough to know the difference between someone telling you something to offend you or to inform you. If you are not mature enough to tell the difference, college is supposed to help shape you so that you are able to by the time you leave. This is not possible if professors think they need to baby you in order to keep their jobs.
The debate about safe spaces also raises concerns about the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. Students in and out of the classroom are afraid to speak their minds or voice their opinions on certain topics for fear of blacklash from their peers. Student publications and newspapers water down their articles and content for fear of being shut down by the institution. These are major problems which cannot be overlooked. Instead of joining together to try to change the situations which offend them, students are being pitted against each other over who is right and who is wrong. We are missing the bigger picture.
Just because someone has a differing viewpoint or opinion than you does not mean they are attacking your personal identity.
Just because someone has a differing viewpoint or opinion than you does not mean they are wrong or are being offensive. You are not always right, and life will be much easier for you in the long wrong if you accept that now.
You do not need a safe space for your thoughts to be validated or for people to praise your ideas. If your ideas are so great you should be comfortable with them without other's validation.
What you do need is a space where people challenge you, question you, and criticize you. This is how you grow as an intellectual and invoke real change.
With that being said I will leave you with this cartoon:
