April 26, 2007

Virginia Tech deaths spur safety dialogue

By Julia Ann Easley

An angry office colleague threatens to "get you." Or one of your students becomes increasingly disruptive in class. You're worried. What will you do?

Do not hesitate to report the concern, say the leaders of three longstanding programs that respond to high-risk incidents at UC Davis.

"This is not something you don't act on," said Dennis Shimek of Human Resources, who chairs the Workplace Violence Prevention Committee. "It's not only in your interest; it is in the interest of others."

Worrisome situations happen on campuses everywhere. After a troubled Virginia Tech student — who had already come to the attention of campus and law enforcement authorities — killed 32 and then turned a gun on himself on April 16 in the deadliest shooting massacre in the nation's history, university communities are asking how their campuses should respond before incidents escalate.

Not every student in crisis will take advantage of the help offered through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and other campus resources. So, Emil Rodolfa, director of the CAPS program and a licensed clinical psychologist, said faculty, staff and students can help to be the eyes and ears that identify potential problems — "and they need to be."

At UC Davis, three programs have been acting on reports and guiding campus response for more than a decade: the Student Crisis Response Team, the Faculty-Staff Crisis Response Team, and the Campus Violence Prevention Program. And other programs — including new faculty orientation, conferences and workshops — provide guidance in identifying and responding to distressed or distressing students.

The two crisis response teams, much alike, provide immediate and comprehensive response to situations that involve disruption, intimidation or violence. The teams develop and implement strategic interventions and help manage ongoing problems.

Student crisis response

"Our primary concern is the well-being of students and the safety of the campus," said Don Dudley, associate director of Student Judicial Affairs and coordinator of the student response team.

The student team holds meetings every other week, during which members discuss about four cases. And the team is also quickly assembled in crisis situations.

The team draws on representatives of the UC Davis Police Department, Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Judicial Affairs, Student Housing, the Student Disability Center, and the Academic and Staff Assistance Program.

"Having broad expertise together in one room gives us a perspective we wouldn't have through individual conversations," said Dudley, adding that the team approach also provides for a consistent response from various campus units.

"It allows us to use the university's resources in the best way possible to help a student, hold a student accountable and keep the well-being of the entire community in mind," he added. See: http://sja.ucdavis.edu/faculty-and-sja-page4.html#StudentsinCrisis

The orientation program for new faculty members briefly addresses working with troubled students. Fred Wood, associate vice provost for Undergraduate Studies, makes that presentation. "We want the faculty to know they can be faced with distressed students, and we want them to know where to go to get help," Wood said. "New faculty members can feel alone, and we want them to act quickly and early."

Workplace violence

When it comes to employees, Shimek said, "Violence in the workplace is real. It happens.

"It's important for everyone to know that resources are available so they can … get some immediate professional assistance," he said. "You really need to act quickly."

The faculty-staff team deals with several incidents each month. Cases most often involve threats, stalking, real or perceived violence, and written or spoken statements that are of concern.

In addition to Shimek, the team includes representatives of the Police Department, Campus Counsel, Employee and Labor Relations, Occupational Health, Faculty Relations and ASAP. As necessary, both the faculty-staff and student teams pull in representatives of other units, ranging from the Cowell Student Health Center to Risk Management.

For each employee case, Shimek said, one team member becomes responsible for doing an investigation and taking action. Some cases are referred to the Police Department. Response may involve personnel action up to and including dismissal.

On occasion, the faculty-staff response team brings in a consultant on workplace violence. That consultant is now developing a violence protocol to better describe incidents. And at no cost to the campus, he will use UC Davis as a center for testing the effectiveness of a response model with a special committee for especially difficult cases.

Shimek is trying to increase awareness of the team's work and educate more people on the proper response to difficult situations in the workplace. In January, for example, about 200 employees attended a major campus conference to help identify potential problems and take appropriate action. He hopes to make it an annual event.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, Shimek said his office will develop a new education program to extend the visibility of the team's services. See: http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/Elr/Er/Violence

Violence prevention program

The Campus Violence Prevention Program provides crisis intervention, support groups and educational programming aimed at reducing incidents of sexual violence, relationship violence and hate crime.

The program serves faculty, staff and students. The unit can help students obtain restraining orders, change their housing arrangements, get out of leases and make changes to their classes. In 2006, the program served about 220 clients regarding sexual assaults, dating violence, harassment, stalking and other behaviors.

"One of the things people do — especially women — is really minimize their instincts," said Jennifer Beeman, director of the program. "Trust in your instincts. Women come in all the time saying they wished they'd listened to their instincts."

At Dateline's press time, Beeman and other campus representatives were in Washington, D.C., to present to the U.S. Justice Department the University of California's case for a $1 million systemwide grant to combat sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking. See: http://cvpp.ucdavis.edu

Other resources available on campus include:

• Mediation Services helps resolve disputes among faculty, staff and graduate students. Director Matilda Aidam said the unit works to reach written agreements in eight to 10 cases a month. "Conflicts can create a great deal of stress and anxiety," she said. "It helps to alleviate intense emotions and interpersonal tensions around an issue. See: http://mediation.ucdavis.edu
• Staff Development and Professional Services offers two courses related to student behavior as part of its Student Advising Certificate Series: Student Psychological Development and Distressed and Distressing Students. The courses were last offered in November and March, and the campus unit is now planning its schedule for next academic year. See: http://sdps.ucdavis.edu
• Counseling and Psychological Services offers confidential and free assessment, intervention and referral for students and consultation and crisis response for faculty, staff and students. See: http://www.caps.ucdavis.edu
• The Academic and Staff Assistance Program offers confidential and free assessment, intervention, and consultation and referral services for faculty, staff and their immediate families. See: http://www.hr.ucdavis.edu/ASAP