Baylor University is a private Baptist institution located in Waco, Texas.  Because it's Baptist-run, Baylor has always had a strict code of conduct.  It's one of the few completely "dry" campuses in America; it forbids any alcohol, regardless of a student's age.  This innate conservatism makes it all the more surprising that the Baylor Student Activities office decided that a simple display of flags to memorialize 9/11 needed to have a trigger warning.

The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at Baylor University has an annual practice of putting up a simple display of flags every September 11 to commemorate those people who died when jihadists launched their attack on America.  There are never signs or political statements; there are only the flags.

This year, however, there were signs on the flag display.  What upset the Young Conservatives was that the signs came from the Baylor Student Activities office, which decided that the flags required a trigger warning notifying students that, merely by looking at the flags, they were being exposed to sensitive content.

In a press release, the Young Conservatives explained that they had made it clear to the Student Activities office that this was a purely non-partisan activity:

Less than 24 hours before the event, Baylor Student Activities informed us they would need to place "expression activity" signs near the flags. 

Baylor Student Activities placed a sign that read; "Please be advised: sensitive content". These signs amount to nothing short of a trigger warning for an event that should unite all Americans.

My first thought was that the Student Activities Office might be a student-run organization, which would explain its ludicrous and demeaning decision.  However, a quick check on the Baylor website revealed that the Student Activities Office has a staff of twenty adults who hold paid positions.

No matter how one looks at it, the decision is shameful.  If the (ahem) adults in the Student Activities Office thought American flags require a trigger warning, once conservative Baylor has become as much a cesspool of leftism as any other academic institution in America.  To the extent it receives any federal funds, those funds should be withdrawn immediately.

Alternatively, if the (ahem) adults in the Student Activities Office thought Baylor's students are so fragile that merely being reminded about 9/11 will cause mental breakdowns, that raises the possibility of two significant problems at Baylor.  If the administration is correct in its supposition, then there's something deeply wrong with the Baylor student body.  And if the administration is incorrect in its assumption, then the Student Activities Office is demeaning the young people it oversees.

Whatever the reason behind the decision, the Young Conservatives would like an apology, and they are undoubtedly due one:

As Baylor students, this is incredibly saddening for us to see. 9/11 is a day that we can forget our political identities and come together to remember those who died and celebrate the triumph of our nation over evil. We ask that the University formally apologize to the Baylor community for displaying the signs at our memorial in order to assert their commitment to the victims of 9/11. 

Displaying the American Flag to memorialize those who tragically perished in the 9/11 attacks is now considered “Sensitive Content”. Honoring those who died and first responders isn’t “Sensitive”, it’s “American”. pic.twitter.com/0DHmY7h2sJ

— Baylor YCT (@BaylorYCT) September 11, 2020

Image: Baylor warning on 9/11 display