Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

Distressed students may be irritable, sad, unduly anxious, withdrawn, confused, lacking motivation or concentration, seeking constant attention, or demonstrating bizarre, erratic or concerning behaviors including references to self-harm.

Signs of Distressed Individuals

Academic

• Decline in quality of work/grades
• Repeated absences
• Disruptive behavior
• Disorganized thinking in writings/presentations
• Repeated requests for extensions
• Overly demanding of faculty/staff time and attention
• Conduct that interferes with classroom, activity or engagement
• Disturbing content in writings/presentations
• Meetings with the student are dominated by personal content rather educational matters

Physical

• Marked changes in physical appearance, including deterioration in grooming, changes in hygiene and weight loss/gain
• Excessive fatigue, listlessness
• Sleeping or eating too much or too little
• Intoxication, hangover, smelling of alcohol
• Disoriented, “out of it,” or forgetful
• Hyperactivity, garbled, rambling, tangential, disconnected or slurred speech
• Strange ideas/beliefs or paranoia
• Isolation/withdrawal

Psychosocial

• Excessive self-disclosure of personal distress, losses, family problems or financial difficulties
• Withdrawal or agitation
• Unusual/disproportional emotional response to events
• Excessive tearfulness, panic reactions, irritability or apathy
• Antagonistic and impulsive behavior
• Verbal Abuse — taunting, badgering, intimidation
• Expressions of concern about the student by the student’s peers
• Loss of pleasure
• Major shifts in mood
• Isolation from friends, family or classmates
• Recent major stressor such as loss of loved one, relationship break-up, etc.

What is your role?

You might be in a good position to spot someone who may be emotionally distressed. While some of this is expected, especially during stressful times of the year, you may notice someone acting in a way that is inconsistent with your normal experience with that person. You may be able to serve as a resource in time of trouble, and your expression of interest and concern may be critical in helping the individual re-establish emotional equilibrium. You should submit a Starfish flag (link) under “Psychological/Mental Health Concern,” so that intervention can occur and the student can receive guidance and consultation.

Do

• Speak with the individual privately.
• Let the person know you are concerned about their welfare.
• Express your concern in behavioral, non-judgmental terms.
• Tell the person you are willing to help.
• Listen carefully to what the person is troubled about.
• Help the person explore options.
• Suggest resources.
• Make referrals to the appropriate campus offices.
• Point out that seeking help is a sign of strength and courage, rather than of weakness and failure.
• Maintain clear and consistent boundaries and expectations.
• Recognize your limits.
• Enlist the help of others as appropriate.
• Document the interaction or incident with the Office of Community Standards (link).
• Feel welcome to consult regarding distressed students by contacting Counseling & Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) at 914-251-6390.
• Connect students with Counseling & Behavioral Health staff directly by calling while the student is with you. You may also walk a student into the CBHS Main Office in Humanities, Lower Level on M-F between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. for immediate contact. After hours and on weekends, the CBHS confidential Answering Service will connect students with the Counselor on Call.

Don’t

• Don’t promise confidentiality.
• Don’t judge or criticize.
• Don’t ignore the unusual behavior.
• Don’t make the problem your own.
• Don’t involve yourself beyond the limits of your time and skill.

Things to Remember

• A student who persists in disrupting a class may be directed by the faculty member to leave the classroom for the remainder of the class period and should be reported to the Office of Community Standards (link) for disciplinary action. The student should be told the reason(s) for such action, and be given an opportunity to discuss the matter with the faculty member as soon as possible. The faculty member should also promptly consult with the department chair/director.
• Call the University Police Emergency Line at (914) 251-6911 whenever you believe there is a threat of violence or other unlawful behavior-including a student’s refusal to leave a class after being told to do so. Any threat of violence should be taken seriously.
• The fact that a student may have a disability should not inhibit you from notifying appropriate authorities (including the campus police, as needed) about disruptive behavior. Students with or without disabilities need to know they must adhere to reasonable behavioral standards. Pertinent federal agencies and the courts have made it clear that an institution of higher education does not have to tolerate or excuse violent, dangerous, or disruptive behavior, especially when that behavior interferes with the educational opportunities of other students.

Disruptive behavior is behavior that interferes with students, faculty or staff and their access to an appropriate education or work environment. This can include behavior that is clearly reckless, disorderly, dangerous or threatening, including self-harm.

Examples of Disruptive Behavior

• Yelling/screaming
• Persistent and unreasonable demands for time and attention
• Words or actions that intimidate or harass another
• Words or actions that cause another to fear for their personal safety
• Threats of physical assault

What is your role?

• Don’t ignore it. Remain calm and remember that this is not about you; it is about the situation.
• Redirect the student to an appropriate behavior rather than warning or embarrassing a particular student, a good approach is to say, “we have too many private conversations going on at the moment; let’s all focus on the same topic.” Most students are unaware of distracting habits or mannerisms and do not intend to be offensive or disruptive.
• Key factors in responding to disruptive behavior are clarity in expectations; courtesy and fairness in responses (making sure students have an opportunity to discuss the incident with you in a timely manner); and progressive discipline, in which students (in less serious cases) are given an opportunity to learn from the consequences of their misbehavior, and to remain in the class.
• Inform the individual that such behavior is inappropriate and there are consequences for failing to improve the disruptive behavior.
• If a student was redirected during class, speak to them after class to follow up. Invite them to your office and clearly identify what behavior is inappropriate for class and what behavior is appropriate.
• There may be rare circumstances when it is necessary to speak to a student during class about his or her behavior. Correct the student in a courteous manner, indicating that further discussion can occur after class.

Do

• Listen through the anger. Use active listening and summarize what you hear.
• Allow the person to vent and tell you what is upsetting them. Use silence to allow the person to talk it out.
• Set limits. Explain clearly and directly what behaviors are acceptable. “I can speak with you as soon as you lower your voice.”
• Be firm, steady, consistent and honest.
• Focus on what you can do to help resolve the situation.
• Make on-campus referrals. Give the name of an individual when possible and call ahead to brief the person.
• Be sure to document any instances of disruptive behavior — write a factual and detailed account of what occurred - and submit the narrative to the Office of Community Standards (link) by requesting to submit an incident report.
• Call the University Police Emergency Line at (914) 251-6911 whenever you believe there is a threat of violence or other unlawful behavior-including a student’s refusal to leave a class after being told to do so. Any threat of violence should be taken seriously.

Things to Remember

• The fact that a student may have a disability should not inhibit you from notifying appropriate authorities (including the campus police, as needed) about disruptive behavior. Students with or without disabilities need to know they must adhere to reasonable behavioral standards. Pertinent federal agencies and the courts have made it clear that an institution of higher education does not have to tolerate or excuse violent, dangerous, or disruptive behavior, especially when that behavior interferes with the educational opportunities of other students.
• A student who persists in disrupting a class may be directed by the faculty member to leave the classroom for the remainder of the class period and should be reported to the Office of Community Standards (link) for disciplinary action. The student should be told the reason(s) for such action and be given an opportunity to discuss the matter with the faculty member as soon as possible. The faculty member should also promptly consult with the department chair/director.

Your safety and the safety of your students is paramount. If a student is behaving in a verbally aggressive manner, remain calm, do not raise your voice or confront the student. Politely request that they respect your physical space and speak in a conversational tone if they wish to continue speaking with you. It is always OK to set limits on student behavior, if done appropriately. Don’t touch the student or move closer to them or turn away.

If a student actually makes a threat or becomes physically aggressive, contact the University Police immediately.

Safety Risk

• Anger or hostility with little provocation
• Physical violence
• Direct threat of harm to self or others
• Vague statements about suicide or homicide such as “can’t go on like this”
• Academic assignments or social media posts dominated by themes of hopelessness, rage, worthlessness, isolation, despair, acting out in suicidal ideations or violent behaviors
• Stalking or harassing others
• Preparing for death by making a will and final arrangements
• Communicating threats via email and phone calls
• Appearing hopeless or helpless
• Giving away prized possessions

Call the University Police Emergency Line at (914) 251-6911 whenever you believe there is a threat of violence or other unlawful behavior-including a student’s refusal to leave a class after being told to do so. Any threat of violence should be taken seriously.

Students, faculty, staff and visitors should call the College’s designated first responder immediately at (914) 251-6911 for any type of medical emergency. In their role as first responders, our University Police are trained to assist with medical emergencies and coordinate with local emergency medical services. In the event of a situation involving injury or illness such as difficulty breathing, fainting, choking, chest pain, anaphylactic shock (severe allergic reaction), seizures, head trauma, extreme severe headache, alcohol and drug overdose, suicide, call the campus emergency line at (914) 251-6911.

Additional information concerning medical emergencies can be found on the University Police Department’s webpage (link).