By Zach Bonner, Assistant News Editor
One of the most volatile debates in our current political discourse is the need for, or problems with, safe spaces. Academic and political speakers alike sit on either sides of a stark dichotomy—one that is a vote of confidence for existence of safe spaces for intersectional thought and one championing our rights as citizens of this country to speak what they believe and to do so without censorship.
As I see it, the opposite sides of our nation’s debate on how we should speak to and about each other is this: do we treat people with respect and in turn avoid certain turns of phrase, or do we keep our language the way it is as to avoid violating our first amendment rights?
To take contemporary examples of either side of this argument, first, I’d like to highlight the words of Ben Shapiro. Ben Shapiro attempts to explain to college students across the nation that their need for safe spaces and their aversion to micro-aggressions is creating within them a group of people who feels that anything that doesn’t align with their beliefs is an offense or an arm of oppression.
Conversely, in an opinion piece for The Washington Post, the president of Northwestern University, Morton Schapiro, explains why he believes that safe spaces are necessary for all people. He says that people, specifically college students, are unable to embrace uncomfortable learning without feeling comfortable themselves. He believes that every person, regardless of their identity markers, deserves a space to speak their truths without backlash or fear of being made to feel invalid.
I think the major disconnect between people who disavow safe spaces and people who feel that safe spaces are necessary for the proper functioning of our institutions of higher education is the basic definition of what safe spaces are and where they exist.
A common misconception is that safe spaces are entire campus communities. As someone who is a member of a marginalized community and has eyes and ears, I assure you that public spaces on campus are not always safe
spaces. Anyone can say virtually anything they see fit and, depending on what kind of administrative authority is present, can do so without consequence. Safe spaces are autonomous areas inside these public spaces where members of marginalized communities can go to exist without the possibility of being harassed for their identity.
I’m not a person who thinks that censoring harassment or rhetoric of people who wish to marginalize others is a viable solution to this problem. A fundamental truth of our country is our collective right to freedom of expression.
Considering this, I believe that if you agree with the sentiment that safe spaces are unnecessary and harmful to the education of students as a whole, you have a basic misunderstanding of what they are, willfully or otherwise.
