Safe Spaces, Canceled Exams And Therapy Ducks: How Colleges Help Students Cope With Kamala’s Loss

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Universities are decrying President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and offering a swath of therapeutic safe-space activities to help students cope with their emotions.

Several universities are offering counseling services and special post-election debriefing events on campus, while professors canceled classes and called for a rise against the future administration, according to emails obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“I am cancelling class today to grieve the presidential election results,” Shlagha Borah, an assistant professor at Michigan State University (MSU), wrote to students in a class announcement Wednesday. “As a queer, immigrant woman of colour, I cannot, in good conscience, go on about my day like everything is alright. This is a major historical event that we are witnessing. I hope you take this time to take care of yourself.”

MSU also offered students a “safe space” featuring therapy dogs, coloring books and free hugs, according to an email from Jodi Hancock, a “director for student success” at the university.

The university’s political science college hosted a “post-election debrief” and offered counseling resources for students, according to an email from the college’s dean. MSU’s Counseling and Psychiatric Services also created an “election care kit” document detailing “coping tips” such as “connect with nature” and “take breaks from media consumption.”