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As the nation's personal, social, and political divides deepen and become more contentious, administrators, faculty, staff, and students face the challenge of navigating this division. Issues of human rights, free speech, and college and university policy converge with remarkable contention, leaving many higher education professionals believing they do not have the knowledge and skill to facilitate civil discourse. On some occasions when dialogue is broached, parties hold fast to their positions staunchly without care or empathy for the other's perspective or lived experiences. This environment can perpetuate even deeper divides. This article will review how to cultivate a culture of care to set thoughtful expectations of all campus stakeholders, provide a foundation for empathy and compassion from which to hold meaningful conversation, and explore the notion that a both/and approach to difficult conversations can be far more useful than an either/or method of discourse.

College students who identify as transgender face numerous roadblocks in accessing employment opportunities. With an unemployment rate three times higher than the U.S. average, much of the transgender employment discrimination reveals itself in the process of seeking employment. Research indicates students identifying as transgender feel pressure to hide their gender identity, potentially limiting their career potential. College and university career exploration specialists are uniquely positioned to support students who may feel marginalized by centering students' stories, validating their experience, engaging in reflective practice, and operationalizing equity in policies and practices through the assertion of human dignity.

This article explores how the escalating tensions in the nation are being mirrored on college campuses and how these tensions can profoundly affect the student experience. The current deep political and social divides require educators to respond in ways that are meaningful and necessitate enhanced skills and the ability to engage empathy and compassion as necessary qualities for teaching reflective practices, perspective taking, and civil discourse. The author explains how the national climate is affecting campus climate and the need for educators to prepare to handle its effects. The author discusses recommendations to activate empathy and compassion in and out of the classroom in order to provide students an opportunity to be more empathic and compassionate members of their campus community and allow faculty and staff the opportunity to be effective facilitators of grace. The goal is to offer space for challenging conversations in the spirit of goodwill and a knowing that all individuals are all in the process of learning, thus, choosing to build community, in the midst of turbulent times.

At a young age, men begin examining and collecting societal messages about masculinity. As as a result of interpreting these messages, young men modify their behavior based on these societal expectations. This is what the author refers to as "regulating masculinity." The regulation of young men's masculinity takes many forms and can crop up in a variety of settings, both on and off campus. In many ways, college men have been taught to avoid vulnerability at all costs. Today it is easy to see college men misbehaving, inflicting pain, and causing trauma in the news and on social media. Those who work in higher education have the opportunity and responsibility to help defuse the grenade of toxic masculinity. Educators have a unique chance to teach and model ways for college men to understand that vulnerability is strong and courageous, and it only enhances multidimensional, diverse masculinity. In this article, the author encourages educators to make connections and encourage dialogue that will allow students to consider ways male students can create bonds and combat toxicity on campus.