We don’t know much about what happened between the student and the professor. Was there an assignment or further lectures on Persephone she wished out of? One would hope that when approached privately about such a matter, a professor would be sensitive to the student’s concerns and offer alternative assignment options. But the fact that an occasional student might feel uncomfortable with certain material seems a strange reason to think no one should read and discuss it.

What’s more—the hyperbolic language of trauma that’s used! Sheesh. Apparently this discussion of Ovid was so threatening it was a matter of self-preservation to ignore it. If that’s really true—if the mere discussion of rape causes this student to feel panicked and physically unsafe—than she needs help treating severe post-traumatic stress disorder, not a fucking trigger warning.

I say that with no judgment; being raped can obviously be traumatic enough to produce lingering psychological trauma. But that’s what that level of reaction represents: psychological trauma. Which, while something professors should be sensitive to, shouldn’t dictate the parameters of acceptable education for all students.