Archeology students at Glasgow University have been told by their professor that if the site of bones makes them feel uneasy, then they are allowed to skip the lecture.
According to the The Times, BBC co-presenter of "Two Men In a Trench" Professor Tony Pollard says that he issues "trigger warnings" to his students before lectures to make sure that they don't run into the bothersome sights that they will undoubtedly see during their profession. A profession, mind you, that they are paying money to take classes to learn about.
Writing in The Conversation journal, Professor Pollard said: “Some of the material I refer to in my classes is disturbing, with images of the dead appearing regularly.“Students are a diverse group and some of them might have suffered domestic abuse, violent attack or trauma in war. In these cases, such exposure might trigger flashbacks or aggravate recently suppressed trauma.
“It is only common sense to provide these individuals, and those who just can’t stomach images of dead bodies in shallow graves, with the option to walk out of the classroom.”
How students will fair during their careers as archeologists if they are easily "triggered" by the sight of the subject they study and research is anyone's guess, but the professor denies that his method of letting students skip class if they feel uneasy won't turn them into complete wusses, and stated that subjecting them to images they find disturbing would be irresponsible.
