By April Brown
It is both a terrible and wonderful time to lead an ethics class. Last fall during the run-up to the presidential election, we had daily reminders of the viciousness and negativity a presidential campaign can produce. Many universities are labeled “liberal-leaning,” so it may be assumed faculty and staff are Democrats. Mine is in a red state (Arizona) that has gained a purplish hue in some areas where more residents have begun to vote for Democrats.
My ethics students last fall were mostly juniors and seniors, but there were a few freshmen and sophomores and one avowed communist. All were over 18 and eligible to vote in the election, so when representatives of a student voter-recruitment drive asked if they could speak to my class I said “yes.”
I made it clear why students should think about whether to participate in the election (assuming they were eligible), but also that they were under no obligation to do so for my class. This led to one conversation: If you are a citizen of a democratic country—do you have an ethical obligation to participate in an election, and if so, in what way? And if you don’t participate, do you still have a right to complain about the outcome?
We discussed the news coverage of the campaign, whether it was ethical and/or appropriate to use the word “lie” as the New York Times had decided to do in some of its coverage of Donald Trump. We talked about language and how the word “bitch” was used in reference to Hillary Clinton in the New York Times opinion piece: “The Bitch American Needs.” The Times’ public editor later responded with “The Word a Headline Didn’t Need.”
Right after the election, many students (and faculty) seemed shell-shocked from the unexpected outcome as well as uncertainty about what might lie ahead. Statistically, some of my students were undocumented, some were Trump supporters, others voted for Clinton, and still others didn’t care to vote at all.
Regardless of their decision whether or not to vote, I wanted to create a safe space where we could talk about the concerns, the differences, the similarities, and at least hear opposing views and the ideas behind them, without screaming, rudeness or histrionics. I talked to a friend and former teacher about resources on teaching civil discourse. It turned out the students welcomed an opportunity to have this conversation.
I started by modifying an exercise suggested by the Anti-Defamation League, handing every student several Post-it notes and having them write what they felt after the election, but not to add their names. They came up and stuck them to the whiteboard as they finished.
“Fear.”
“Relieved.”
“Terrified for our country, but also for myself with all the things that could be taken away from me or done to me as a woman.”
“America back to the people.”
“WTF! Disappointment”
“Takes humanity several steps back.”
“I felt ashamed of the place I called home and as if all the progress we made through history was instantly thrown away.”
“Confused.”
“Scared, for myself and friends in minority communities who can be affected by this.”
“Angry. Like really angry”
“Hopeful.”
“Impotence.”
I told them we would have a respectful and civil conversation about these feelings. I mentioned the recent passing of a friend and former colleague, [journalist and TV newscaster] Gwen Ifill, and showed them that her work in the nation’s capital—where many of our democracy’s disagreements play out—was constructive and that instructive conversations were still possible.
And we had one. It was so good, we spent two class periods on the topic. Students needed to vent, ask questions, share fears, and find a way forward.
Several months and a new semester later, the atmosphere of unease persists with an edginess about how our country and, potentially, our world are going to change. I’ve been told many people are seeking counseling from Campus Health to deal with anxiety in the aftermath of the election. Who knows, at some point, I may need to make an appointment myself.
April Brown is an Assistant Professor of journalism at Northern Arizona University. She has an M.A. in International Broadcast Journalism and is an award-winning journalist and Special Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour. She has also worked for the BBC and ITN based in London, and as freelance producer for ABC News and NBC News in the United States.
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