A Message from President Randhawa about the Presidential Election

Dear Western Community,

Our democracy spoke yesterday as it elected Donald Trump to be the 45th President of the United States.  His election concluded a highly contentious and bitter campaign that sadly divided our nation like no other in recent memory.  The divisive campaign is over…and we need to start the process of healing and bringing together our communities on our campus and in our nation.

I want to acknowledge feelings of disappointment, confusion, frustration or fear that some members of our community are experiencing at this time.  This is the time when we are obliged and responsible for investing our energies into reaching out and positively touching the lives of all we come in contact with.  We need to heal and put our collective efforts into moving our campus and nation forward. This is a time that we as a Western community need to model the supportive behavior and qualities of respect and social justice that we would like to be practiced in our broader community.  We need to apply “Active Minds Changing Lives” in a truly positive Western way.

I know our student and faculty leadership are equally committed to the health and welfare of all in our community.  As such they will be reaching out to you with their own message later today.

Please know that if you or someone you know is struggling with the impact of this election, counseling consultation services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at counseling.wwu.edu or by calling 360-650-3164. If faculty or students have questions related to class attendance or other administrative questions, please contact studentlife@wwu.edu or by calling 360-650-3706.

Please take care and do look out for each other.

Respectfully,

Sabah Randhawa