UCLA classes should implement trigger warnings

The state of California has finally taken notice of several universities’ inadequate sexual assault and sexual harassment policies.

UCLA was among four California schools that received recommendations for improvement from a state auditor and should immediately take small, tangible steps to address its shortcomings.

There’s a rather simple place to begin doing that.

While it’s common to see warnings before movies or television shows, some schools have begun implementing trigger warnings for classes on classroom syllabuses. A trigger warning cautions survivors of rape, sexual assault, war and other types of trauma that certain material may contain content that could trigger troubling flashbacks and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

A few schools, including the University of California, Santa Barbara, have begun to implement trigger warnings in the classroom this year by having professors include them on class syllabuses.

UCLA should follow UCSB’s example and begin providing trigger warnings for classes either through class syllabuses or by placing them into class descriptions on MyUCLA.

Making these kinds of considerations for survivors on campus is particularly important for UCLA given the result of the state audit on sexual violence and sexual harassment released June 24. According to the audit, which reviewed universities based on their response to incidents of sexual violence on campus, UCLA does not adequately educate faculty and staff when it comes to handling sexual assault incidents. The audit stated that UCLA does not provide sufficient educational resources for faculty and staff, who tend to be the first point of contact for students after they are sexually assaulted. It also found that UCLA does not provide enough educational resources on sexual assault for students.

Trigger warnings on class syllabuses could serve as a starting point in preparing faculty and staff to appropriately handle students’ traumatic experiences.

But in order to implement trigger warnings in the classroom, UCLA has to explain their purpose and significance to its faculty and staff. It can do that by providing better, more thorough training on sexual assault response and sensitivity.

Currently, the sexual harassment prevention training required for UCLA faculty is a two-hour workshop every two years. The training can be completed through an online seminar or an in-person class.

But the state audit found that faculty was not trained to respond to incidents of sexual assault. According to the audit, 48 percent of students who turned to faculty and other campus resources after an incident of sexual assault were discouraged from filing a Title IX complaint or were given incomplete or inaccurate information about filing a report. Requiring faculty to attend an in-person class on how to handle sexual assault in addition to the already-mandated sexual harassment classes more frequently than every two years would better ensure that important information, such as the importance of trigger warnings, is transmitted.

Trigger warnings indicate that professors are willing to provide safe spaces for students in the classroom. By providing students with advance notice of materials they may be sensitive to, professors give students a chance to decide how they should approach the class. It’s important to give students, especially survivors of trauma like sexual assault, the agency to decide whether or not they can handle the material.

Creating a comfortable classroom environment is key to keeping students in class and allowing them to succeed academically. Addressing certain topics that trigger anxiety or symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder without giving students prior warning has the potential to detract from their learning.

If students unexpectedly come across trauma-inducing material, they may find it difficult to focus on the rest of the class or even drop the class completely. In the long run this can lead to lower grades, causing students’ GPAs to suffer, said Savannah Badalich, Undergraduate Students Association Council Student Wellness commissioner.

Opponents of trigger warnings argue that the warnings detract from “academic freedom” and the learning experience that comes from addressing controversial topics in the classroom. But the idea that trigger warnings serve to brush over uncomfortable topics or shelter students is inaccurate.

The point of trigger warnings is not to censor controversial material in classrooms or to avoid addressing all sides of an issue, and professors have no reason to feel limited in the topics they address in the classroom. Rather, professors can use trigger warnings to show that they care about their students and understand their personal experiences.

The direction of every class discussion can’t be predicted, but if students are given a heads-up about the initial topic of study, they can be better equipped to deal with the conversations that may come up.

UCLA has immense progress to make in its quality of education surrounding sexual assault. Adding trigger warnings to class syllabuses will not fix every problem, but it’s a good place to start on the long road to real, impactful change.