To welcome incoming freshmen, the University of Chicago’s Dean of Students John Ellison sent them a letter telling them there would be no trigger warnings or safe spaces on campus in defense of “freedom of inquiry and expression.”

The Dean equated these measures to harassment and threats, and included a document recounting University of Chicago’s “scandalous commitment” to academic freedom.

For a leader in an academic institution, it seems Edgy Ellison couldn’t be bothered to even do a modicum of research on the other side of the issue. While he claims to be building a campus that welcomes all backgrounds and thrives on diversity, he is creating a space where already privileged students can dominate classroom discussion.

Here’s an example of what Edgelord thinks trigger warnings are: in my house, I’m not allowed to talk about One Direction. This is because my roommate has strong feelings about One Direction, and if I say they’re a bunch of untalented dummies, it upsets her.

Here’s a fun example of an actual trigger warning: my roommate and I are talking with other people, and One Direction comes up. I then say something like, “Hey, I’m about to insult One Direction.” Fun!

Let’s be clear. Trigger warnings are not emergency brakes for discussions that make you uncomfortable. They do not censor debates, and demanding them is not harassment. They are a simple warning that the content about to be freely shared is sensitive. It’s a heads up.

What banning safe spaces does is keep the diversity he’s so proud of from thriving. It puts an undue burden on minority students by denying them places where they can relate their lived traumas without some bonehead trying to debate them on it. When you take that space away, you hand the power to control discussion to those privileged enough to live without even having the issues being discussed personally affect them.

If the University of Chicago really wanted to extend “civility and mutual respect,” their leaders would have some empathy for those of a different background. Giving students of color a heads up when you’re planning on discussing racial violence is a courtesy. Planning on showing a film with rape in it? Never a bad idea to say, “Hey, this has some rape in it.”

Additionally, Edgy McEdgerson says they won’t cancel speakers if their topics prove to be controversial. First of all, I’d like to know one time that has even happened at any university ever. Secondly, if you are using students’ tuition to procure a speaker who is so openly offensive to the point where students protest, maybe consider why they don’t want their money supporting a bigot’s livelihood. Maybe consider that funding hate speech is different than supporting free discussion. You can seek out dissenting opinions without paying a racist to come to your school.

When I took a class on Pop Culture, we watched “Boys Don’t Cry,” and many people in the class were very upset by a very upsetting film. It would have been nice to know what was coming, but I didn’t go to class. I didn’t write the essay.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t discuss violence against transgender people or rape. I would never advocate that any topic of discussion be banned in a classroom. But as someone who regularly cries during sad commercials, I needed a trigger warning to participate in that class to the best of my ability.

At Point Park, it’s up to each individual professor to decide whether or not they want to include trigger warnings in their class. But if you want me to be able to share my voice, I need to feel safe doing it. Sometimes that means trigger warnings.