Instead of the usual Features section on pages 2 and 3 this week, you will find two pages of Perspectives.

In light of this historic election, in which the nation remained divided through the presidential campaign and the election itself, The Record chose to open up two pages for the perspectives of students, faculty and staff on the election.

We have invited the Goshen College community to respond to the election through words, poems, cartoons, sketches.

While the majority of submissions were in paragraph form, the opinions and perspectives expressed in these reflections represent a range of viewpoints and formats.

The Record is printing many of the responses submitted, but not all; unfortunately, due to limited space, some of the submissions were not able to be published.

We do not claim that this section is representative of the overall Goshen College community and the viewpoints held by those here.

The Record wanted to make this a space where all people on campus feel comfortable sharing, regardless of which “side” they are on.

Each of these opinions and perspectives is held by at least one student or faculty member at Goshen College, and they all deserve to be respected whether you personally agree or not.

We hope you will take the time to read through the thoughts and reflections of your classmates, friends, professors and administrative staff.

Before opening to the next set of pages, please take the time to set aside any preconceived biases you might have and take time to care for yourself.

You may not read anything that completely changes your worldview, but if you read something that makes you pause and consider the view of the other side, we will have done our jobs.

If you read a piece that doesn’t sit well with you, we would encourage you to reach out to the author to have a conversation. Be honest with one another, but be kind. Take time to truly understand where they’re coming from.

This special section isn’t here to magically fix the pain and close the divisions that this election made evident, but it is an attempt to begin real conversation on this campus about how we move forward.

We understand that this might be too soon for some people to take that step; we encourage everyone to practice self-care.

If it is too soon, that’s OK.

But if you’re ready for a thoughtful local (and national) conversation, grab a hot drink and spend some time reading and reflecting.