Do you remember where you were? I remember, on May 25, 2020, sitting at my computer finishing up classwork when my Twitter notifications began going crazy. I immediately stopped what I was doing and opened my phone to see a video of a Black man, who we now know was George Floyd, being murdered by police. My social media was consumed with outcry, rage, and mourning, that I was compelled to join. Less than a year later, my notifications were triggered again. I opened my phone to see multiple videos of older Asian-American citizens getting beaten. Yet a third time the same schoolyear, I was scrolling through social media reading about how Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students were at risk of deportation under the past administration and became enraged that something like this could happen. I watched my Twitter timeline vacillate from tear-jerking videos from DACA recipients themselves, to reading about ways that we could help advocate. All of these heartbreaking and often violent videos were not taken down quickly and some not at all. They consumed my timeline to the point where I was watching and rewatching someone that looks like me being killed, and people that look like my friends being attacked. These incidents were not isolated events. The more and more social media has grown, the more we have access to what is happening in real time, in writing and video. It almost feels as if we were there witnessing these horrible events ourselves. 
Alexia Oduro
Watching all of these incidents, I started to become numb as a means of coping with the trauma I was feeling. My belief in the good of people and hope in our country, in justice and in peace was fading and it felt like there was nothing I could do about it. And yet all the while I was expected to continue in my college classes and excel in my work. After speaking with peers, I realized that I was not alone in trying to work through these heavy emotions. Most universities were silent as all of these well-publicized racial travesties and injustices raged on. It left many of us feeling isolated, despondent and invalidated.
We can no longer ignore the depth to which students feel the pain of things that happen worldwide. From the unjust murders of Black men and women to antisemitism, to Asian-American hate, to the unjust deportation of DACA students, these tragedies are felt by our minoritized students day in and day out. These incidents are also becoming more and more common, and it is vital that universities begin to examine the role their silence plays. They must begin to help heal students’ trauma by acknowledging these traumatic incidents and validating the students' emotions during this time. To ignore students' outcry and pain and failing to address the incidents is a form of complacency in the systemic racism that still lingers within universities. While some universities have protocols in place to respond to incidents that arise on campus, most do not have one that addresses worldwide incidents. To combat this, I was honored to work with key stakeholders, including Dr. J. Luke Wood, vice president for student affairs & campus diversity and distinguished professor of education at San Diego State University, to create I.M.P.A.C.T which can be used to provide universities a clear protocol with considerations on when it is appropriate to respond to these worldwide publicized racial incidents that can quickly and easily have negative effects on students. I.M.P.A.C.T.
Identification: When a student can identify with the victim, it can make the incident even more terrifying as they may internalize the fact that it could have been them. For example, when Sandra Bland was killed, do we have students who could see themselves in her? Here are questions that educators should consider: Do we have students who could identify with the victims? Are students seeing someone that looks like them, a loved one, a friend, etc. being hurt, attacked or killed? Are students seeing someone that looks like them not receive justice? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then proceed to the next consideration.
Minoritized: Knowing who the incident is affecting is crucial, as we know that minoritized communities are targeted for violence and harm at much higher rates. Knowing if the event affects a minority population will allow us to outreach to them and their cultural centers directly to ensure they are supported during this time. Here are questions that educators should consider: Does this event affect a minority student population? Have you reached out to your faculty and staff, especially at your identity centers to inquire if they are hearing any feedback from the event? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then proceed through the entire I.M.P.A.C.T. process.
