President Donald Trump’s controversial executive action on immigration policy has prompted universities across the country to offer “emotional and psychological support” for students struggling to cope.
Nicholas Dirks, chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, recently signed a joint statement with UC system chancellors expressing their “deep concern” with Trump’s executive order restricting immigration from certain countries identified as high risk.
In a follow-up message to UC Berkeley students, Dirks encouraged students “struggling with the emotional and psychological dimensions of this unfolding situation” to seek “mental health services” offered by the University. Campus Reform reports that more than 30 colleges and universities across the country have issued statement opposing Trump’s immigration policies.
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville was among those offering “additional support” for students experiencing “confusion and anxiety.” The administration pledged to facilitate “one-on-one counseling sessions” to help students “cope with their emotional distress due to the immigration policy.
Students at some schools, such as the University of Southern California, are urging their administrations to enact “sanctuary campus” policies that would prevent them from reporting immigration information to federal officials. The faculty senate at the University of Notre Dame recently passed a resolution to encourage the school to refuse cooperation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
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