While there have been no reports of student-led requests for sensitivity at UK institutions, a senior lecturer in English literature at Manchester University, Dr David Alderson, said he had come across such demands, though he had “limited experience” of it. He didn’t rule out the possibility of measures reaching UK institutions. “It’s not currently a major issue and I think most students are smart enough to grasp the problems with it. I don’t have confidence that institutions are,” he said. He was clear on his own position: “The problem with demands for ‘triggers’ to be applied to course content is that it reflects a consumerist sense that the world should be inoffensive to us personally. This isn’t just a problem for academia, of course, but reflects broader social developments.”