College Freshman. They start taking electives concerning class, race, and gender. The topics they talk about have to do with discrimination.
The poem is talking about thinking about the bad things that have happened to you and asking why we hold on to them.
I am pretty sure it is using ethos :)
Answer:
You want to ensure them that it's okay as long as it was a mistake. Yelling or criticizing someone over such small things is never the answer.