Mental health, school, and the pandemic - Jessica Lin & Zahra Roberts

Recently, I have been looking for jobs, and the fact that these new rules will be put in place so soon has me feeling very uneasy. If I do get a job soon, how will that place specifically react to these new policies? With this diversity specific training coming to an end, I fear my skin color, human values, and rights might be diminished as a future worker. I’ve dealt with my race being a huge obstacle for me in the past. While attending public school daily, I deal with stress, questioning my ethnicity, and estrangement feelings. If I feel this way, other people certainly do. We all know that racism is not okay, and things that subside it shouldn’t be left out of people’s daily lives. I, and others shouldn't have to worry about how our culture and physical traits will affect us in the workplace. What scares me the most is that soon, these new actions may even carry over to educational institutions. For a better future for us all, these policies should be reverted, because the real issue at stake here is equality.

This issue is significant because race is one of the biggest issues in history, and racism is still a huge problem today. Our president believes being overly sensitive to groups with diverse backgrounds is creating a form of discrimination. He feels that focusing on one specific group excludes others and making changes will create more equality amongst working people. Some might say the new policies are useful because people who are racist or have certain feelings towards people of color won't be forced to be extremely mindful of these things. Diversity training is necessary because, previously, people of different backgrounds felt that they were safe and did not have to work in fear. Without this in place, how will other workers react to people around them from different locations? The training standards should remain how they were before the changes, to ensure people aren't racially profiled or feel unconformable at their place of work. Whether you are currently employed or not if people speak out about this issue now, it can be quickly resolved. Things can go back to how they were regarding training, race, privileges, and inclusion.