The fallout continues after a speech made by U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse to graduating seniors at Fremont High School missed its mark.
Sasse had several comments about psychologists and their field in his speech. "There will always be money to be made in psychology, no, that's a joke," Sasse said. "Do not. If you're heading to college, do not major in psychology. That part's not a joke."
Now, those working in that field are speaking out.
"To tell students, you know, people who are getting ready to embark on their life and to think about what they want to become and discouraging them out of the field. That's disheartening for us," Becca Moore said.
Moore is president-elect of the Nebraska Counseling Association. The group's board penned a letter to Sasse in response to his speech.
The letter was posted on Twitter Sunday night. Since then it's gained a lot of attention.
Thousands have liked, retweeted, or commented on the post. There is a mixed response; some are praising the letter -- others are jumping to the aid of Sasse, saying he was joking.
"It might be easy to make those comments when you're not the one sharing space and listening to children talk about the abuse they've endured," Moore said. "You're not the one that has sat with a rape victim that's describing what they went through. That's just, there's just nothing funny about that."
Their comments were echoed by the Nebraska Psychological Association.
The coronavirus pandemic is putting a strain on the mental health of people across the country, especially in a community that's no stranger to tragedy. "Fremont in particular because these kids have also endured a flood last year. You know, this is not their first big life event that has really rocked their worlds," Moore said.
She thinks the speech should have focused instead on lifting the seniors up for their accomplishments.
Both the NCA and NPA letters ended on a similar note, extending an invitation to Sasse for a conversation. Sasse's office has yet to respond to the letter.