Submission: UCLA must do better to accommodate students’ post-election strife

In response to the result of the 2016 presidential election and the outspoken reactions from the community, the Daily Bruin is running a series of submissions from readers. Click here to read more.

I did not have class on Wednesday, and that is probably the only reason why I was able to survive hearing the news of Donald Trump’s election. Not having class also gave me the opportunity to watch as my friends tried to come to terms with the results. Some had midterms last week, and others had assignments due or presentations to work on. Yet none of them were able to work Wednesday.

When the shooting on campus happened a few months ago, we heard how professors continued to lecture through the lockdown, did not accommodate traumatized students and enforced strict deadlines for tests and assignments. And while that event was physically closer to us, this presidential election brings no less emotional turmoil.

For many undocumented Bruins, the election of Trump comes with the fear of deportation. For LGBTQ Bruins, it comes with the fear of regressive policies that will undo the progress we have made regarding marriage equality in the past few years. For survivors of sexual assault, it is incredibly triggering to see a candidate who has bragged about nonconsensually grabbing women and has been accused of sexual assault multiple times. Yet despite these fears and frustrations, students are pumping out paper after paper, midterm after midterm, mechanically stripping themselves of their humanity in a system that constantly fails to support them.

While various entities on campus are offering decompression spaces and facilitating discussions about the impact of this election, few professors are willing to accommodate the mental health of students. This highlights, once again, how we as students have to constantly put our health and well-being on the backseat to fulfill our obligations to this institution.

Instead, we need to push for a culture that gives students the space to make sense of the world around them – a world that is more and more divided, hostile, and terrifying. We need to allow students to process the trauma many of them are experiencing before they are forced to return to their books. And while college is supposed to be a place that challenges us and forces us to step out of our comfort zones, there is nothing glamorous or inspirational about an education that fails to recognize the humanity of the people we share our classrooms with.

Professors’ reluctance to accommodate students struggling at this time is not only problematic – it is also a reflection of an overall culture at UCLA that forces us to dissociate from our personal struggles and instead prioritize school. And while the ability to compartmentalize is an important skill to have, it is unfair to expect students to forget about the fear of being deported or stripped of their human rights to take midterms. We can all do better to support one another in order to make UCLA more inclusive and conducive to learning. We all must do better.

Chhabra is a fourth-year political science student and chief of staff for USAC General Representative 3.

Click here for full coverage of the 2016 election and reactions at UCLA.