Teaching through Crisis

As the war in Israel and Gaza continues, the impact on some faculty, staff, and students also continues. Feelings of safety and belonging are crucial for students and faculty. We were concerned in fall to hear that UO students from the Middle East and/or who are Jewish or Muslim had experienced course interactions that felt isolating and dehumanizing. If you or your students have experienced bias, discrimination, or harassment, know you can contact the Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance office and report your experience, including anonymously reporting.   

A reminder that each of us can navigate the impacts that large-scale experiences of violence, fear, or loss might be having on students by continuing to:    

• Acknowledge that violence and loss and remind them that they can contact UO Counseling Services for support.    
• Remind ourselves that our students and the UO community hold identities and histories that will not all be apparent to us, that do not match our own, and that are complex.    
• Ensure that if we choose to engage with the content of large-scale conflict, violence, and loss, we do so purposefully by explicitly linking activities or discussions to the goals of the course or discipline.