One of the first lessons students learn at college is that studying and completing their homework is probably a lot different than it was in high school. That’s why free walk-in study areas were created decades ago at RIT, where students can do their homework and be helped by trained student peers.

After the contested 2020 presidential election, the tumult of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and the national protests following the killing of George Floyd, RIT looked inward to see how to address the political climate with the student body. The result is an increased effort to create a campus culture of free speech and to give students the skills to participate in civil discourse respectfully and productively long after they graduate.

RIT students are creatively connecting with each other, using applications like Discord and Slack to virtually study and socialize day and night.