Let’s Acknowledge that Today is Not a Normal Day

Here’s note I sent my Trinity College students before class on Wednesday Nov 6th 2024, the day after the US Presidential Election.

Let’s acknowledge that today — as the nation processes last night’s election results — is not a normal day. Whatever your political stance, it may be difficult to imagine where our deeply divided nation is headed. If it’s hard to concentrate on your education right now, that’s understandable.

But I sincerely hope you will continue to engage with learning because we need you. We need you to listen to those whose viewpoints or values may differ from their own. We need you to challenge disinformation and make intelligent decisions based on evidence. We need you to educate younger generations and draw from the experiences of those who came before us. We need you to think clearly about how to help us collectively move forward during difficult times. We need you now more than ever.

I opened class by briefly reflecting on the theme above. Before turning to our assigned syllabus content for the day, I asked if anyone wished to share anything. After a short pause, one student spoke up and described that his family lives in Hong Kong, where they saw the Chinese government silence all opposition to its authority. He concluded, “you don’t fully realize what you have until someone takes it away.”