Diesel
Well-known member
I'm coming at 'safe spaces' more from the perspective that they exist to 'protect' students from ideas and viewpoints they don't want to hear. It's an ideological safe space on several different levels. And to me at least that defeats the purpose of what college is all about, which is hearing diverse viewpoints and having your positions challenged. It makes for a more intolerant, extreme and segregated society when this is already occurring in Universities.
And you hear from more conservative leaning facility members of top Universities discuss the response from students who don't handle well hearing ideas in the classroom that challenge their beliefs and how their administrations aren't always supportive of them. I'm not saying this from a 'woah is them' perspective but rather why people hold a certain disdain for what's happening on campuses.
That's why I said "safe space" was not a negative term before conservative media ridiculed it to death. What you described is not definitionally a safe space. It's a misappropriated term to criticize perceived group think on college campuses, but that's not what it means.
"Some critics suggest that safe spaces are a direct threat to free speech, foster groupthink, and limit the flow of ideas. Others accuse college students of being coddled 'snowflakes' who seek protection from ideas that make them uncomfortable.
"What unites most anti-safe space stances is that they focus almost exclusively on safe spaces in the context of college campuses and free speech. Because of this, it’s easy to forget that the term 'safe space' is actually quite broad and encompasses a variety of different meanings.
"On college campuses, a 'safe space' is usually one of two things. Classrooms can be designated as academic safe spaces, meaning that students are encouraged to take risks and engage in intellectual discussions about topics that may feel uncomfortable. In this type of safe space, free speech is the goal. The term 'safe space' is also used to describe groups on college campuses that seek to provide respect and emotional security, often for individuals from historically marginalized groups."
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/safe-spaces-college#1
It's not just liberal students who object to conservative messages. It works the other way around too. CU-Boulder is a notoriously liberal and very large institution. One of my undergraduate degrees is in political science, so we had a lot of heated discussions in rooms filled with hundreds of people. A lot of those discussions were led by left-leaning professors and instructors. The conservative students, although almost always outnumbered, often had no problem throwing a fit about dissenting views.