At the University of Washington’s School of Social Work, students were invited Wednesday to an “election care” event featuring puzzles, crafts, food and a dog to pet.
It’s one of many major university offerings nationwide to help students cope with election stress.
The University of Colorado-Boulder invited its students to write a write poetry, color and drink tea, or enjoy aromatherapy and slime-making. And Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy opened up a Lego station Tuesday for frazzled students, the New York Post reported.
The University of Wyoming has seen none of that, multiple sources confirmed Thursday to Cowboy State Daily.
“I am not aware of anything of this nature happening at UW,” Chad Baldwin, university spokesman, told Cowboy State Daily in a Thursday email.
Multiple leaders of student groups said the same.
And for the multipartisan student group BridgeUWYO, whose stated mission is to help people engage with others across the political spectrum, the plan isn’t to offer a safe space, but to have a lively discussion.
“(We’re) hosting a big discussion next week. It’s going to be both a panel event and a discussion event,” Ven Meeker, president and founder of Bridge UWYO, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.
The group has invited other UW student groups ranging from the conservative-leaning (though technically nonpartisan) group Turning Point USA to the College Democrats.
“Quite honestly, there isn’t a lot of coping that necessarily needs to be done for Wyoming students,” said Meeker, pointing to the school’s larger-than-elsewhere percentage of conservative students.
He also noted that even for politically left-leaning UW students, they’re used to living under GOP policies in Wyoming, and a win by Vice President Kamala Harris wouldn’t have changed that.
That’s Not Helpful
For the president of UW’s Libertarian-leaning (yet nonpartisan) group Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), who spoke in his capacity as an individual and not on behalf of the group, the whole concept of coddling college students is counterproductive.
“Personally, I believe that coping resources are simply unnecessary,” JW Rzeszut, YAL president at UW, told Cowboy State Daily in a Thursday email.
Both presidential candidates were disappointing, said Rzeszut.
Many of President-elect Donald Trump’s policies are unrealistic and counterproductive, he said, adding that, “I see no way in which they pose an existential threat to students at the university.”
“In fact,” Rzeszut continued, “I would go so far as to argue that this narrative of students being thrown into turmoil is harmful, and neglects the opinion of the majority of this election’s voters.”
The university should uphold its neutrality position by not diverting resources to one political wing of students in the form of safe spaces, he said.
“It would be redistributing money from existing programs to a shortsighted and politically charged resource,” said Rzeszut.
The Kennedy
Mathew Kozlowski also spoke as an individual, noting that his group, Students for RFK, dropped its activities when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the presidential race.
Not only has he seen no safe spaces, he’s also seen no real outbursts.
“(I know of) nobody having temperamental issues that didn’t like the outcome,” said Kozlowski. People range from upset but calm, to “reasonably excited,” he added.
Gabe Saint, President of Turning Point USA, said most just seem happy the election is over. But it’s been “plum quiet” on campus.
Check Social Media
If any safe spaces or therapeutic outlets are forming among the UW student body, they may be on social media, Rzeszut noted.
He said the students’ responses have fallen into three categories: students who appear to feel uncomfortable or even threatened by the election results; students who are conservative but quiet about it because Trump still carries some stigma; and students – like Rzeszut – who simply do not care that much because neither candidate truly represents their interests.
The uncomfortable students seen to be organizing their own social support groups, primarily through social media, said Rzeszut.
Leaders of the Political Science Club, the College Democrats at UW, the Wyoming Young Communist League, and the Young Women for America did not respond Thursday to email requests for comment.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
