Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, CA, has reversed a decision to add a “trigger warning” to the description of an English course that teaches four graphic novels. Trigger warnings, a subject of debate in academia, are advanced notices that assigned materials include content that may cause traumatic emotional responses among students. The CHC warning had been added after a student objected to graphic language in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (L’Association, 2000), Alison Bechdel's Fun Home (Houghton Mifflin, 2006), Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, Vol 2 (DC Comics, 1989), and Brian K. Vaughan's Y: The Last Man Vol. 1 (Vertigo, 2002). Brian Reece, vice president of instruction at Crafton Hills College (CHC), part of the San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD), says that the school had initially decided to include a warning on the class listing because of the nature of graphic novels including depictions of nudity, violence, sex, and torture. But the school changed its mind after representatives met with Tara Schultz, the student who had filed a complaint about the books, and her parents. “We decided it was a very slippery slope if we go in that direction,” Reece says. “Figuring out what offends and not offends people is impossible, not to mention it had an academic implication.” Millie Davis, senior developer, affiliated groups and public outreach at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), couldn’t agree more. Davis notes that requests for trigger warnings are growing at colleges and are often led by students. Over the past few years, schools including Columbia University, Rutgers University, and the University of Minnesota, among other higher education campuses, have seen these requests. NCTE, along with the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and four other signers wrote a letter to CHC president Cheryl A. Marshall on June 26, citing the graphic novels’ literary merit and urging the college not to adopt the warning. “Some people think students are sensitive and we should warn them that we have this material in it,” says Davis. “Other people, like our group, believe college is a place that is supposed to challenge your thinking.” CHC associate professor Ryan Bartlett, who has taught the class three times, says that it is considered “one of the most popular courses.” He adds, “In fact, this is the first complaint we’ve had.” Schultz took the class during the spring 2015 semester and found the material “shocking,” she told the Redlands Daily Facts. “I didn’t expect to open the book and see that graphic material within. I expected Batman and Robin, not pornography.” She filed her complaint in the middle of May—four months after the semester started, says Reece. Schultz also said she didn’t learn she would have to read the graphic novels until far into the semester, too late to drop the class and not receive a failing grade. However, Reece notes that a syllabus listing the required texts is given to students on the first day of class. The class schedule also tells students that “graphic novels/comic books” are part of the course material. Schultz’s next steps may include talking with Bruce Baron, SBCCD chancellor, which her father appeared resolved to do, according to Reece. Is there still a chance that the trigger warning could still be added? “It’s definitely not happening,” says Reece.