UCI Vice Chancellor calls for tolerance after divisive election

It has been difficult to process the election results for many people, not only at UCI campus but other colleges as well. Many have taken to protest and as a response to the 2016 election results and the turbulent atmosphere, the Vice Chancellor of UCI, Thomas A. Parham, has issued a message adhering to the divided student population.

“Like many of you, I am struck by this historic moment — both as a campus and a nation — as we process our thoughts and feelings about yesterday’s election results. The country has spoken loudly about its preferences for candidates, even though there may still be room to interpret what a particular selection really means to individual citizens and their community.

The duality of the circumstance in which we find ourselves is that some members of our community will find the results distressing if not traumatizing. Clearly, there is anxiety, anger, confusion, disappointment, fear, and apprehension gripping our campus, particularly among our most vulnerable student populations. We want to acknowledge this and offer our campus resources to those who need support, a listening ear, and practical advice in navigating these uncertain times.

Conversely, other members of our Anteater family will want to celebrate the outcome and the opportunity this election presents to move particular agendas forward. We also want to acknowledge their feelings of joy, delight, relief, gratitude, and even surprise at the outcomes we have all realized as a nation. They too will need safe spaces to express their thoughts and feelings, and experience the moment in individual and collective ways.

As the new administration moves from campaigning to governing, there will be deliberate and intentional efforts to help a divided nation heal. In recognizing this, I want to appeal to the brighter side of our humanity where each of us individually and as a campus community contribute to our collective health and healing. Despite ideological differences, let me encourage all of us to listen to our peers, colleagues, friends and family, empathize with their particular circumstance or situation, and find ways to support each other. In doing so, we not only embrace the best of ourselves, but also help us move closer to realizing a more functional democracy poised to represent the future of this nation.

Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor
Student Affairs”