Every four years, on January 20, a U.S. president-elect stands before the nation and takes the oath of office during the inauguration. The 76 days between election day on November 5 and inauguration day on January 20 is long recognized as among the most dangerous. Many Americans vow they will not accept the results of this election if their candidate loses, according to the World Justice Project. A significant number believe violence is warranted to save the country. Adding to this already volatile period is an increase in threats of violence against public officials at all levels.
Over the past few weeks, there have been countless articles about how this election will impact college campuses regarding issues ranging from admissions and financial aid to classroom content. All the while, the issue of campus safety continues to loom in the environment. Campus leaders should consider these events’ impact on safety and security, particularly on and around the January 20 inauguration of the president.
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If this inauguration feels different from those in the past, it should. Only once in our nation’s history – 132 years ago — did we inaugurate a president who previously served as president. Colleagues and peers I have spoken with have expressed a generalized sense of what will come next for their campuses. These feelings are commingled with feelings of trepidation and concern for a possible return of the expressive activities we saw in the spring of 2024 and the resulting fallout and harken back to the spring of 2020, when the president’s inauguration occurred amidst extraordinary political, public health, economic, and national security crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
With many colleges and universities beginning new semesters within days of the presidential inauguration, reminders will be sent out about existing wellness programs, personal safety precautions, personal safety strategies, and event planning guidelines for celebrating the event during turbulent times. The time is now for campus safety and student affairs professionals to ask themselves what else can be done.
Colleges Advise International Students to Arrive to Campus Before Inauguration Day
The last 12 months have seen an uptick in demonstrations, protests, and encampments unrivaled by nearly any period in our nation’s history. While colleges and universities have engaged with their communities, amended policies, and renewed their commitment to civil discourse to return to a sense of normalcy, it is paramount not to rest on those successes.
A growing number of U.S. colleges and universities are advising international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration over concerns he might impose travel bans like he did during his first administration, reports the Associated Press. While this direction may be in good faith, when messaging is not correctly crafted, it may escalate tensions, increase anxiety, and ultimately fracture the psychological safety necessary for the free exchange of ideas.
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This is the time for campus safety and student affairs professionals to partner with their communications and media teams to craft public communications that can be well-executed and trauma-informed during times of uncertainty or tumult on campus to help victims and community members prepare and respond effectively to such events. Communications from trusted leaders who adopt a trauma-informed approach to providing information and demonstrate a sense of calm, competency, control, and compassion can also help impacted individuals and communities manage their stress and distress reactions to these events.
Adopt These 6 Principles of Effective Crisis and Risk Communication
Effective crisis and risk communication rely upon six principles:
- Be First: Crises are time-sensitive. Communicating information quickly is almost always essential. For members of the public, the first source of information often becomes the preferred source.
- Be Right: Accuracy establishes credibility. Information can include what is known, what is not known, and what is being done to fill in the gaps.
- Be Credible: Honesty and truthfulness should not be compromised during crises.
- Express Empathy: Crises create harm, and the suffering should be acknowledged in words. Addressing people’s feelings and their challenges builds trust and rapport.
- Promote Action: Giving people meaningful things to do calms anxiety, helps restore order, and promotes a restored sense of control.
- Show Respect: Respectful communication is particularly important when people feel vulnerable. Respectful communication promotes cooperation and rapport.
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Well-planned and well-executed crisis and risk communication, fully integrated into every stage, helps institutions manage their limited resources and do the most good. Moreover, this strategy supports the notion that “The right message, at the right time, from the right person can save lives in an emergency, ” according to the CDC. The first message must have all these components to ensure it is credible, well-received, and effective for promoting action.
Develop Partnerships and Robust Agreements Now
Public communications are only part of the “Is my campus ready?” equation. Additional strategic components rely on learning from prior events, applying the lessons learned, and then testing (and recalibrating) the implementation. As an industry, we have learned that early collaboration with key stakeholders to discuss emergency preparedness is paramount to success.
There is an adage in emergency management about not wanting to exchange business cards in a command post during a critical incident. While business cards are quickly becoming a relic of the past, the sentiment inferred—that the time to meet your partners is not when you need them—is quite apropos in these scenarios. In addition to having robust agreements, campuses should develop strong relationships with their partners. Partnership building should include functional and full-scale exercises where participants react to realistic, simulated events based on lessons learned from their own or similarly situated institutions and implement the plan and procedures. These exercises test collaboration among the agencies and participants, public information systems, communications systems, and equipment.
The organic outcome of such activities builds robust partnerships, establishes trust and a shared understanding of the unique service roles of each entity, and updates comprehensive emergency operations plans. These well-coordinated efforts bolster community confidence and safety on and off campus through a more effective public safety response.
Consider Working with ‘Non-Traditional’ Partners
We have learned valuable lessons from previous events relating to the specificity included within these agreements and the need for broad collaboration and buy-in from internal campus and external community stakeholders. In preparation for January 20, campus safety and student affairs professionals should be reviewing their plans and bringing “non-traditional” partners into their fold.
For example, what “push-in” type services can counseling centers or student legal services muster in the days and weeks leading up to the inauguration? Alternatively, are there opportunities to partner with recreation centers and campus libraries to expand availability and programming, providing safe venues for dialogue?
In addition, it is critical that campus partners (not just campus safety) review practices and conduct training on de-escalation techniques and mental health first aid to support the community best. Beyond this discussion, campuses are often host to watch parties, celebrations, and other forms of assembly. These partnerships will be tested for handling security and traffic control during these unprecedented events.
As campus security professionals and administrators reflect on how to best prepare for recent events and beyond, a commitment to institutional learning of prior events, writ large, is essential to effectively managing the campus safety ecosystem.
Michael J. Rein, CPP, is the Director of Organizational Assessment Services with The Healy+ Group, a professional services firm specializing in organizational assessments for higher education police and campus safety organizations, Clery Act compliance consulting, after-action reviews, and special investigations, expert consulting for civil litigation, and culture and strategy services. Before joining Healy+, Michael served as a police officer at Rutgers University, retiring in 2022 as the Deputy Chief of University Police. Michael also served as an assessor and assessment team leader with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) for 14 years.
NOTE: The views expressed by guest bloggers and contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Campus Safety.
