Recent violent events on college campuses have increased our awareness of the risk created by students who are troubled or disturbed and demonstrate the need for on-going efforts to keep our community informed of how to respond if concerns arise about any students’ potential for harm.
At Buffalo State, we have a Student Behavior and Risk Assessment Committee that meets regularly to assess the potential risk to personal and campus safety that might result from the actions of individual students. This committee is charged with taking steps: (1.) to collect information about students who demonstrate, through current or past behavior, conduct or expression that they may pose a safety risk to either themselves or the campus community; (2.) to connect information that is collected into an assessment of risk that may exist and (3.) to prevent possible harm by recommending appropriate action to either assist an individual in fulfilling their obligations as a student or to remove an individual student from the campus community. The committee is led by Charles B. Kenyon, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, and its proceedings are confidential.
It is clear that the key to prevention is information and awareness. For that reason, we are announcing the start of the Care Enough to Call awareness campaign. This campaign has the goal of making information about who to contact readily available so it can be located and used at the time it is needed, namely, whenever there is a concern about potential risk to personal or campus safety that might result from a student’s behavior.
With Care Enough to Call we offer a guide to appropriate resources. Some situations will represent an immediate threat requiring an emergency response by University Police. More often, faculty, staff and students will have a non-emergency concern from uncertainty about a student’s mental or physical health or their disruptive behavior. Care Enough to Call intends to help all of us (1.) accept our responsibility to do something about our concerns and (2.) offer guidance about how to respond appropriately.
Below is a link with information developed to initiate the Care Enough to Call awareness campaign. I urge you to keep this information readily available and, more importantly, to act on any uncertainties or concerns you might have by calling the appropriate office. You should also feel free to notify me or Dean Kenyon if you have any suggestions for improving or implementing the Care Enough to Call campaign. Working together, we can help ensure a safe environment for all.