The Office of Inclusive Excellence hosted an event titled “Election Reflections: A Community Debrief” on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 12:30 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Students, faculty and staff were able to share their concerns and hopes resulting from former-president Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The Office of Inclusive Excellence aims to create spaces that foster conversations centered around empathy, open-mindedness and respect. We want the students, staff and faculty at Sacred Heart University to feel comfortable sharing their personal reflections—whether they are feeling hopeful, frustrated, uncertain or anything in between,” said Dr. Freda Grant, Director of Institutional Equity Compliance.
Jack Cavicchi, Assistant Web Manager and Staff Writer
The Chapel of the Holy Spirit, the location of the “Election Reflections: A Community Debrief” hosted by the Office for Inclusive Excellence.
“We thought it was really important, going into this fall, to make sure there was a space planned well in advance of anything that could happen in terms of who or how the election went and to make sure that as a community we were able to talk about it,” said Dr. Charlie Gillespie, Director of the Pioneer Journey.
Initially, the faculty and staff at the event were more willing to share their thoughts about the election results than the students in attendance. As the event continued, more student attendees felt comfortable enough to share what was on their minds.
“I wanted to have a conversation with individuals curious about the aftermath of the election because I knew that I was not the only one feeling the way I do,” said freshman Holly Cushing.
There were about 30 people in the chapel for the event, and even though there were both Trump and Harris supporters in attendance, more Harris supporters were outspoken about their hopes and fears.
“I think that the crowd that was in the room were the people who happened to be free at 12:30 p.m., wanted to come and do this, and thought that their assumptions about the room would match the room they are walking into,” said Gillespie. “I think there are a lot of people on various sides of all these questions that opted out for a false assumption of what the room was going to be like.”
As a result of Trump’s victory, many individuals in the Sacred Heart community and across the country have been vocal about their fears, concerns and mistrust of those around them. People from both parties have taken to social media to share their reactions to the election.
“One of my primary concerns post-election was whether or not our socio-political division could heighten tensions within our communities. Regardless of where people stand politically and the latter outcome, this year’s election led to widespread frustration, mistrust and anger,” said Grant.
“Without the proper supportive resources, these feelings have the potential to fracture relationships between friends, family members and neighbors. One way to combat this is by creating spaces that ensure individuals feel heard. The Election Reflections provides the necessary space for that particular type of civil discourse.”
The Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT) classes are required for all students to take before they graduate, and they utilize conversations and civil discourse to operate.This was the first time the university hosted events that outwardly encouraged civil discourse outside of the classroom.
“These events bring the courageous civil discourse and intentional reflection that we do in CIT and have that be what SHU does best,” said Gillespie.
According to Grant, the Office of Inclusive Excellence is hoping to hold more events like Election Reflections after receiving positive feedback from the university community.
“I definitely feel like this event was beneficial and there should be more discussions like this in the future,” said Cushing. “If there were more, you could certainly count on me being there.
