The College Fix

Tells students to be triggered by civil conversations about fetal development

The University of Northern Colorado has a dubious distinction in the annals of American higher education censorship: It sicced the Bias Response Team on a professor for his lesson on The Atlantic cover story “The Coddling of the American Mind,” later turned into a book.

It dumped Mike Jensen, an adjunct with no protection against administrators who need to justify their positions, after the HR director – a member of the bias team- called him into a meeting. Fortunately, Jensen recorded the conversation.

The incident was so embarrassing to this waste of taxpayer money that it terminated the Bias Response Team.

But it hasn’t lost its appetite for sliming those who attempt to bring intellectual diversity to its one-party state in Greeley.

Campus newspaper The Mirror reports that the administration sent “multiple emails” to the student body about a pending visit by Justice For All, an anti-abortion educational organization, at the invitation of UNC’s Students for Life chapter.

The administration emphasized that it’s required under the Constitution to let Justice For All “participate in freedom of expression activities on campus,” but it flagrantly lied about the content of the group’s advocacy:

[Justice For All representative Grace Fontenot] said that while the group had not experienced much push-back from students for their presence on campus, she saw the university warnings about the demonstration as somewhat excessive.

“From the university itself, there’s been a lot of signs and a lot of emails warning students about the signs, about them being graphic,” Fontenot said. “We don’t have graphic content out here.”

The administration also offered “resources for anyone that might have been impacted by the presence of the group on campus,” including free counseling and Center for Women’s and Gender Equity services, according to the Mirror.

This is ludicrous, and suggests to students that the mildest possible pro-life advocacy is a threat to their very being. I’m sure that administrators never made similar resources available to students in response to abortion-rights advocacy.

MORE: UNC professor investigated for playing devil’s advocate in class

Look at any of the photos taken by the Mirror and you’ll see there is nothing remotely graphic or triggering about the Justice For All materials. There is no image even conceivably related to abortion, much less a gruesome depiction.

Instead, one poster shows human development at various stages, no different than a medical textbook. Another poster shows a silhouette of a pregnant woman and invites passers-by to “dialogue about unintended pregnancy and abortion.” Is UNC offended by visibly pregnant women?

Another invites students to “speak out against violence against women,” “civilize the conversation” about protecting preborn children, and “join JFA in condemning all abortion-related violence,” including by pro-life zealots.

This is what the useless bureaucrats who police speech at UNC consider “graphic” and triggering?

The student government wasn’t any better, seeking to whip up paranoia about the peaceful pro-life visitors.

Students for Life of America obtained two emails to the student body from President Tim Hernandez, sent on consecutive days, that warned them Justice For All was coming and they might be upset. His first email claimed it was the president’s “duty” to warn students about off-campus visitors.

He offered the same resources the administration promised to students upset by fetal development models and calls for civility. SFLA correctly portrays his message as “prim[ing] students to be offended” by a purely educational, non-graphic display.

Hernandez told SFLA he’s sent similar campuswide emails about visiting groups before this, claiming that the student government must “support [students] in spaces where they could also be potentially impacted.”

With this subterranean threshold for offense, is there any part of UNC where students won’t be “impacted” by something? Perhaps a hawk swoops down and snatches a squirrel? Will Hernandez send daily emails warning students that nature happens in Colorado?

“It’s unfortunate that Hernandez tried to pollute our discussion by telling students that they will be upset by the discussion,” said SFLA’s Colorado regional coordinator, Christina Coffman.

That’s too mild. It’s not “unfortunate.” It’s an abomination.

This public university is supposed to prepare students to see much worse in the real world than civil discussions about fetal development. Instead, it’s training them to be paranoid and crumble at the sight of differing viewpoints.

Here’s a better trigger warning: Tell your child you won’t pay for them to get a worthless education from the liars who run UNC.

MORE: HR director warns Jensen ‘I’ve got three investigators’

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