President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, diagnosed our problem earlier this month in Time: “Anger never persuades, hostility never heals, and contention never leads to lasting solutions.” Consider Wednesday’s violence. Are any Kirk supporters less likely to believe him now? No! And why? History shows that assassinating leaders does not eliminate their beliefs. Instead, killing the messenger strengthens the message. Kirk is another in a long line of examples: John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln.

The effects of using violence to persuade ripple beyond one individual’s death and the pain to that person’s family–as horrific as those are. Perhaps the shooter thought that Kirk’s death would only affect his supporters. That is expressly false. The event’s audience also included Kirk’s detractors, many of whom are as traumatized as his supporters. Every member of our UVU community has been affected whether we attended the event or not. People across our state and nation are horrified at what happened here.

I particularly grieve for my students. Regardless of where they were on campus–at the event or not–they are reeling. Our sense that our campus is a safe space has been shattered. Yet we will soon return to campus and attempt to resume the business of learning while our hearts and minds process trauma that we need weeks, months, and years–not days–to process. Adding to the emotional damage, students have been robbed of learning experiences. Those attending missed the opportunity engage in political debate. All our students have missed in-class instruction–and they will continue to do so. They have lost nearly a week of class. And it’s not like we can pick up where we left off. We must adjust for the missed time and the reality that learning is different when processing trauma.

Last, but not least, our society has suffered yet another blow to our collective ideal of freedom of speech. Our ability to speak and listen to each other is what truly makes this country great, and this shooting shows we are losing it. When people don’t feel safe sharing conflicting ideas with others, including those they love, or when we shut down disagreement too early, our collective ability to solve our biggest problems is compromised. Perhaps the shooter thought that killing Kirk would lessen his [the shooter’s] rage and change the situation. Neither happened. In fact, both are worse.

To truly make America great, we need to stop villainizing and start listening to each other. This can happen! While waiting to be evacuated, I experienced community with colleagues and students bound by tragedy. I want that shared sense of community to ripple across Utah, the United States, and the world as a counterwave to this week’s violence. Therefore, I personally commit to reducing hostility and contention–that is, I will be a peacemaker. I invite you to join me. A word of caution–if you think I’m suggesting we ignore our disagreements or minimize their seriousness, then you are missing my point. My point is we need to do the harder work of engaging with each other. We may disagree, but hate and contempt won’t solve those problems.

Only listening to and learning from each other and finding common ground will help us move forward. As a writing teacher, I know that common ground exists. Every semester, my students find common ground through writing and engaging with varied perspectives. We can find it too. The way forward is hard–but we Utahns have never shied away from hard work. Please join me in doing hardest, most rewarding work that we will do– saving our state and country by engaging others with love and respect.

Dr. Angie McKinnon Carter is a Senior Lecturer at Utah Valley University in the English Department. Her views are her own.