1st Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

University of Chicago To Incoming Freshman: Don't Expect "Safe Spaces" Here

“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called “trigger warnings,” we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual “safe spaces” where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own,” the letter states. 

The warning from Chicago stands in sharp contrast to many other American universities that have gone out of their way to coddle students by protecting them from ideas they may find offensive or disturbing. 

So-called trigger warnings have been issued over everything from newspaper opinion pieces to art exhibits to reading assignments so that students who might find the content distressing or disturbing can avoid being exposed to it. 

Safe spaces, where students can shelter from ideas or expression they find discomforting, are the other trend du jour on some campuses. Brown University last year turned a room on campus into a safe space by outfitting it with cookies, coloring books, soft music, pillows and a video of frolicking puppies, along with trauma counselors, after students complained that a speaker invited to campus would be too upsetting. 

The University of Chicago is having none of it. To drive home the point, the letter to students includes a link to a report on freedom of expression issued by the university in January 2015. 

The report quotes a former president of the University, Hanna Holborn Gray, as saying that “education should not be intended to make people comfortable, it is meant to make them think.

DYI Comments:  In their comment section from HeatStreet web site here is what Orange Candy had to say:

University of Chicago?! Wow!! I am impressed beyond belief. It is about time that a university stood up against the nonsense coming out of the wacky millennial kooks who can't seem to handle reality without a blankie and a binkie. Kudos to the first school to express what a university is all about - encountering new and often opposing ideas and situations and learning from them.

I hope the University of Chicago is true to their word, if they are, then America and the 1st Amendment is alive another day.  The only way tyranny can be beaten back is eternal vigilance. Hopefully the remainder of the Bill of Rights will come into vogue at this University.  It all begins with one step, and in this case the 1st step(Amendment).  We can only hope.

DYI