The president of Utah State University sent a memo to faculty and staff about the university’s code of conduct amid growing awareness of mental health issues and sexual violence on college campuses.
President Noelle Cockett’s memo comes after faculty and staff at USU had questions about how to “best respond to distressed and disruptive students.” In it, she says the university offers many confidential and non-confidential services to help students work through personal problems that may lead them to drop out of school if not properly addressed.
Cockett says those “who work directly with students are in a unique position to recognize when students are in distress and direct them to needed resources – both on and off campus.”
An organization at the university called the Division of Student Affairs created an online guidehelping USU employees help students in need.
The guide helps staff and faculty learn how to recognize symptoms of distress in student. Some symptoms include being withdrawn, irritable, confused or overly anxious. Behavior to be cautious about include students seeking constant attention, expressing bizarre behavior or communicating suicidal thoughts. There’s also guides on how to handle disruptive students.
