MADISON, Wis., April 24 /PRNewswire/ — To help institutions care for students who might be overwhelmed by the shootings at Virginia Tech, Magna Publications held an online panel discussion titled “The Compassionate Response: Helping Students after a National Tragedy” on Friday, April 20.
More than 350 sites participated in the live discussion, which included a question-and-answer session. A rebroadcast of the panel discussion is available at no charge to the public and media through Friday, April 27. To register for the rebroadcast, visit http://www.magnapubs.com/nationaltragedy.html.
The panelists were Dr. Margaret J. Barr, professor emerita, School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University; Ralph Hatley, principal of Security Operational Solutions, Inc. and former public safety director of Rhodes College; Dr. Kathy Hollingsworth, executive director, Counseling and Psychological Services, Duke University; and Dr. Eugene L. Zdziarski, II, dean of students, the University of Florida.
Suggestions that emerged from the discussion and following question-and-answer session included the following:
— Although holding memorials and other public events is important, an
institution’s response must go beyond that to educate the campus about
where additional help is available.
— After a crisis, timely, accurate information is important. However,
some students, faculty, and staff might be better off limiting their
media use.
— In addition to helping students, be sure to provide support for your
resident assistants and faculty.
— Avoid making unrealistic statements about campus safety.
— Get input from Asian and Asian-American student groups.
— Be sure to reach out to commuter students, too.
Magna Publications (http://www.magnapubs.com/) is a leading publisher of newsletters and other information products in the higher education segment. Magna also manages onsite and online conferences on topics of interest to higher education.
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Source: Magna Publications, Inc.
