In a move that has sparked debate, a university is facing criticism for what some have labeled as a ‘woke’ approach to student sensitivities. The University of Roehampton, located in south-west London, has introduced content warnings in lectures to alert students to potentially sensitive topics, including a seemingly innocuous one: chocolate.
These content warnings have become a regular part of the psychology curriculum, aiming to prepare students for discussions that might touch on subjects like ‘smoking, passive smoking,’ ‘sexual organs,’ ‘anger,’ and the ‘quality of parent-child relationships.’ However, it is the inclusion of ‘chocolate addiction’ in these warnings that has particularly caught attention and raised eyebrows.
Octavia Evans, a second-year psychology student, expressed her skepticism about the necessity of such warnings. Rather than feeling protected, she described the approach as excessively cautious to the point of absurdity. “Yes, you read the last one correctly,” she commented, referring to the chocolate warning. With a touch of humor, she acknowledged her own fondness for chocolate but questioned the need for such caution, suggesting it borders on treating students as overly delicate.
And in listing, there was a content warning for ‘chocolate addiction’.
Second year student Octavia Evans said that rather than being shielded from potential discomfort, she felt infantilised to the point of ‘farce’.
She said: ‘Yes, you read the last one correctly. As a long-suffering chocoholic, I appreciate my lecturers’ concern for my sanity (and waistline), but come on!
‘It made me wonder: had a student actually objected – a voice crying out that discussion of chocolate addiction is too much to endure – would the lecture have been stopped?
‘Or would the university gently remind us that, while it is committed to wellbeing and inclusivity, the material is nonetheless essential? I fear the former.’
The University of Roehampton has come under fire for woke trigger warnings over chocolate
A now-deleted section of the university’s website insisted it was committed to creating a working and learning environment that is truly inclusive’, where everyone feels ‘valued’ and able to ‘achieve their full potential’.
Other trigger warnings warned student that lectures could include ‘reports of friends having mental health difficulties’, or material that ‘might relate to issues you have experienced or about which you hold strong views.’
Another seminar warned that it may include ‘views that you disagree with’, which Ms Evans told the Telegraph was presented as a ‘potential hazard’ rather than a necessary condition of learning.
Roehampton last year ranked 92nd in a ‘woke’ ranking list published by think tank Civitas.
Last December, one of Britain’s top universities warned that Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone featured ‘outdated attitudes and abuse’.
Critics said the University of Glasgow’s decision to issue the warning to undergraduates taking a module called British Children’s Literature was proof of a ‘triggering epidemic’.
The university’s warning applied to the module of nine set texts and did not highlight the content of any particular novel.
The University of Sheffield also warned about violence and murder in the Bible, including Christ’s crucifixion.
The university advised how the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John include scenes of ‘graphic bodily injury and sexual violence’ as they relate the events leading up to the death of Jesus.
Christians and historians said the warnings were ‘misguided’, ‘absurd’ and incompatible with discussions about morality.
One warning related to the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. In the Book of Genesis, Cain, the first person to be born, kills his brother Abel, who becomes the first person to die.
But critics of the censorship pointed out that there is no mention in the Bible of how Cain kills Abel – and were at a loss to explain the inclusion of ‘sexual violence’ in the warnings.
Nottingham University slapped a trigger warning on Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales because they contain ‘expressions of Christian faith’.
The Canterbury Tales, written between 1387 and 1400, is a collection of stories about characters on a pilgrimage from London to the tomb of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.
They include the promiscuous Wife of Bath, the drunken Miller and the thieving Reeve, who tell stories containing references to rape, lust and anti-Semitism.
However, the university’s warning made no reference to anti-Semitism or sexually explicit themes.
Meanwhile, biology undergraduates at Reading University were warned they could see ‘graphic’ images of the human body.
Youngsters were also told they will have to obtain consent before carrying out mock clinical examinations of peers, which ‘involves physical contact through clothing’.
A University of Roehampton spokesperson said: ‘The University of Roehampton is committed to an inclusive working and learning environment. As a matter of good practice, students are provided with advance information about course content.’
