Schools offer counseling to help students process Trump win
Virginia Tech will be offering counseling to its students who are “waking up with fear, anxiety, concern, questions, and confusion” over the election of Donald Trump.
In an email to “students, colleagues, [and] friends,” VT’s director of intercultural engagement center, Tricia Smith, writes that she wants all members of the school community “to hear clearly that you are loved.”
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“I hope that every person will take extra time today to consider this context and care for those around them. The strength of the Hokie community has long been notable but not every member of our community has felt they belong,” she wrote, adding that “today, this may feel almost insurmountable.”
“I want you to hear clearly that you are loved. You deserve wellness. You deserve to thrive. You deserve community,” she continued.
Smith then provided a list of “spaces” where students can congregate to grieve over the outcome of the election, even listing several counseling services that students and faculty can avail themselves of post-election.
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“Students can find support in Student Advocacy, Cook Counseling, and through your on-campus residence,” she explained, adding that “faculty and staff may seek support through the Employee Assistance Program.”
She concludes her email by affirming students that their “emotions are real,” noting that the school’s “community centers will be here if and when you’re ready.”
Similarly, Georgetown University’s dean of students, Mitch Bailin, sent an email to all students to inform them several offices would be available to help students process the results of the election.
“Following a divisive election, we know that many of you are experience a range of emotions today. Some of you are feeling optimistic; others, confusion; and some, anguish or fear,” he stated. “Our offices will host an open space for the next few days where students can gather to process these feelings or just be together in community.”
At the University of Massachusetts, Boston, as well, the school’s vice chancellor for student affairs wrote his students to let them know that counseling would be available all throughout the week to help students reckon with the outcome of the election.
Additionally, the school will also be sponsoring a “Coping and Balance” workshop where students can play with “Doggo, the therapy dog.”
Campus Reform reached out to Smith, Georgetown, and UMass for comment on the matter, but none had replied in time for publication.
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