We are deeply saddened by the horrific tragedies that occurred this weekend at a Walmart in El Paso, where families were going about their back-to-school routines on a Saturday morning, and at a downtown district in Dayton, Ohio, where people were enjoying a night out with family and friends.
It appears the shooting in El Paso, where twenty were killed and twenty-six were injured, was fueled by anti-immigrant sentiment, racism, xenophobia, and White nationalism, and is being treated as an act of domestic terrorism. These hate crimes have an impact on everyone’s mental health, especially those who identify as historically oppressed groups. The El Paso shooting may particularly impact Aggies from El Paso and other border communities as well as our Latinx/Hispanic students.
We encourage students and others who have been impacted by this tragedy to engage in self-care and seek support. The links below provide information on coping with community trauma, the mental health impact of hate crimes, and suggestions for self-care. We invite students to visit us at Counseling and Psychological Services, where services in Spanish are available.
- Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of a Mass Shooting
- The Psychology of Hate Crimes
- Discrimination: What it is, and how to cope
- Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide
- Surviving & Resisting Hate: A Toolkit For People of Color
- Racial Trauma is Real Manuscript
For further information, please see the statement released by the American Psychological Association.