To: The Clarkson Community
From: Cathy McNamara, AVP Student Success, Diversity & Inclusion and Jim Pitman, Dean of Students
At Clarkson, our small campus community is often times referred to as a family. As a consequence, at times, community members (family) may exhibit behaviors that cause us concern. It’s important for each of us in the community to acknowledge that we are in a position to look out for one another and, if necessary, provide assistance. One of the simple and effective mechanisms we have available to us to provide such assistance is the outreach process called the SafetyNet. The SafetyNet allows us to act as suggested by the phrase “if you see something, say something”. That mantra is particularly important in our small community. If something seems amiss with someone within our community, then you can act – the SafetyNet gives you access to a way to say something…or, at the very least, bring it to the attention of someone who can say something, and do so effectively. See how to access the SafetyNet at
https://internal.clarkson.edu/safetynet/index.php.
Remember, each of us may only see a small part of the situation; but if we each report small items, that lets Student Affairs build the big picture and find out if there are patterns of behavior for an individual student that signal a crisis.
The SafetyNet is designed for quick communication to student affairs support teams when concerns arise about a student. Our hope is to mobilize a response to concerns quickly and appropriately. Issues relating to academic performance can lead to further discussion related to their personal well-being and might include topics such as:
· student has missed several classes
· student has informed you or asked for help dealing with issues in their life
· mental health issue (grieving with the loss of a loved one, depression, anxiety, etc.)
· physical health issue (chronic medical problems, sleep disorders, eating-related issues, etc.)
· substance abuse issues (student admits to a substance abuse problem, appears intoxicated in class, etc.)
· issues relating to sexuality and/or gender
· legal issues
· safety issues (behaviors relating to excessive risk-taking, etc.)
If you wish to report issues related to sexual harassment, sexual violence, dating abuse, domestic violence or stalking, you should call the Dean of Students or Title IX Coordinator, 315-212-8940, directly to discuss any concerns. You can find additional contact details, information on a person’s rights, and available resources at: https://internal.clarkson.edu/nondiscrimination/index.html Please remember all Clarkson employees are non-confidential resources with the exceptional of the Student Health and Counseling staff and HAART (Harassment Assault Abuse Response Team) advocates. Please practice need-to-know privacy when dealing with these issues.
Although we know it’s difficult in large lecture courses, we remind faculty that Clarkson University Regulations at http://internal.clarkson.edu/studentaffairs/regulations state that Instructors are requested to report three consecutive absences to the Dean of Students office in order to provide a minimal check on the physical and academic well-being of the student. Hopefully, this form is an easy mechanism to report prolonged absences.
