Compassion is needed in back-to-campus messaging: Opinion

Back-to-campus messaging should be compassionate towards those who are experiencing anxiety and grief, writes Marcelle Christian Hayashida. The author argues that anxiety is normal, and that institutions should prepare people to be compassionate about the feelings of others rather than simply laying out policies and procedures. “The goal is to recognize that this is, in many ways, an exciting as well as a scary new chapter for us all – that both things can be true at the same time,” writes Hayashida. “It is to acknowledge our shared humanity, the presence of negative feelings right alongside the positive ones and how hope can buoy us as we engage science, empathy, compassion and wisdom.” Inside Higher Ed (Editorial)