Dear students,

The last few weeks have been devastating. We are a movement full of people who want to make the world a better place, who refuse to accept the world at face value. Trump has taken a sledgehammer to the values we stand for, the justice we’re fighting for and to the futures of those we care for.

Many of you are studying issues that will equip you to seek jobs in the public service and nonprofit world after you graduate. Yet, while you’re in college, spending every day entrenched in theories and innovative ideas, we’re seeing the dismantling of public institutions and protections for the most vulnerable people and communities here and around the world. You or your peers are losing internships, your professors might be scared to teach, Trump just threatened harsh punishments for participating in protests he doesn’t deem acceptable, and there is a general air of anxiety that makes learning and activism feel impossible right now.

What’s more, we continue to see the impact of the devastation of October 7 and the war in Gaza. Images of babies being returned to Israel in coffins and starved children in Gaza are enough to break anyone. This is compounded when we see Jewish leaders online calling for revenge against all Palestinians and activists on the left validating Hamas’ evil. We cannot accept this.

I will not feed you the “You are the next generation” line you hear frequently. I’ve been working with college students long enough to know that being told you have to fix all the problems of our world only adds to the weight you already feel on your shoulders.

We are facing more than just an uphill climb – it’s climbing Mount Everest barefoot. We need to accept that we are in a losing position right now, but please don’t accept that we should give up hope.

In J Street U, we teach students to focus on what they can control and to strategize around what they have power over. At this moment, we don’t have much control over what is happening around us. However, we have power over ourselves and our actions. I promise that each of you can bring compassion back into someone’s heart, expose a friend to a different perspective and, at the very least, call your Member of Congress.

I have a piece of writing framed on my desk that I took from my dad, a lifelong educator, that ends with this: “Live your life so that at any hour you will be able to shake hands with yourself and try to accomplish at least one thing worthwhile each day. Then, when your nights come, you will be able to pull up the covers and say to yourself – ‘I have done my best.’”

This crushing feeling will go away. But right now, we must start by doing our best each day for ourselves and each other.