The brain that is focused on worrying about microaggressions, or not belonging, or stereotype threat, or physical and psychological safety, is not available for learning. There are things we can do to create learning environments in which all students feel safe and respected and visible, in which they can recover some bandwidth. The COVID-19 pandemic, and now the tragic events related to systemic violence against black and brown people, have served to spotlight inequities in the United States that have been around forever, but which many of us have been able to ignore.

For presidential spouses at colleges and universities, the many hours of our day are usually spent welcoming guests to the president’s residence and cohosting events for students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, community members, and visitors from the local community or across the world. This sheltering in place during the pandemic, this pause in our busy lives, has given us an opportunity to reclaim our interests and solitary activities often set aside for our campus responsibilities.