2008 Woodie Awards
Brochure reinforces issue of student mental health
Roger Sauerhaft
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Campus
"My hunch is that a lot of faculty would probably be uncomfortable calling the police if they have a student who is maybe not acting right," McCandless said. "Particularly before Virginia Tech, I think that would be a safe thing to say, they wouldn't want to get (students) in trouble. Faculty are kind of 'mentor-y' (and try to solve problems on their own)."
He mentioned the brochure includes four contacts for faculty to consult.
Aside from the chief of police, the IRT team is co-chaired by Dean of Students Susan Mosley-Howard. She said the brochure is simply "What we're trying to do is educate faculty and staff," Mosley-Howard said. "With any safety thing, such as in a school, you have fire drills so that in the event something happened it would be almost automatic and you'd know what to do ... Just as if your house catches on fire, (there) is not the time to figure out how you're going to get out or figure out where your meeting place is outside the house."
Howard also said that currently, the IRT receives about two or three "critical incidents" each week and about eight or nine psychological emergencies per week. When asked about the differences between the two categories, Howard said that decision is made on a case-by-case basis.
Howard Kleiman, professor in the department of communications, thought that having the contact information and directions of what to do for students in distress is a good idea and does not see any unintended negative consequences for students.
"I don't think there's any privacy issue here; nothing here is suggesting to snoop into the students background or follow them down the block," Kleiman said. "I'd be surprised if there was any unintended negative consequence of this. I think it's not a bad idea and I think and universities these days have an obligation to be proactive … if the student is a potential problem, then it's (helping) the community."
He mentioned the brochure includes four contacts for faculty to consult.
Aside from the chief of police, the IRT team is co-chaired by Dean of Students Susan Mosley-Howard. She said the brochure is simply "What we're trying to do is educate faculty and staff," Mosley-Howard said. "With any safety thing, such as in a school, you have fire drills so that in the event something happened it would be almost automatic and you'd know what to do ... Just as if your house catches on fire, (there) is not the time to figure out how you're going to get out or figure out where your meeting place is outside the house."
Howard also said that currently, the IRT receives about two or three "critical incidents" each week and about eight or nine psychological emergencies per week. When asked about the differences between the two categories, Howard said that decision is made on a case-by-case basis.
Howard Kleiman, professor in the department of communications, thought that having the contact information and directions of what to do for students in distress is a good idea and does not see any unintended negative consequences for students.
"I don't think there's any privacy issue here; nothing here is suggesting to snoop into the students background or follow them down the block," Kleiman said. "I'd be surprised if there was any unintended negative consequence of this. I think it's not a bad idea and I think and universities these days have an obligation to be proactive … if the student is a potential problem, then it's (helping) the community."
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