University of Colorado Denver

• Do not wait for patterns to form. Address concerns immediately
• Correct innocent mistakes and minor first offenses gently
• Give a general word of caution to class
• If possible, speak with the student after class
• When necessary, correct the student courteously and indicate that further discussion can occur after class
• Documentation and Warnings
• Consult your Department Chair or other colleagues for guidance and suggestions
• In the face of persistent disruption, you may ask the student to leave class for the remainder of the period. In instances where a student is asked to leave the class make sure to document the time, date and circumstance and inform the Department Chair.
• If there is threat of violence or other unlawful behavior, call Campus Police 303-556-5000 (6-5000)

• Articulate clear classroom expectations in the syllabus, and review during the first class
• Develop agreements as a class during the first session
• Respond to problems quickly and consistently
• Look to non-disruptive students for cues: is the class following material?

These students show a multitude of symptoms, e.g., guilt, low self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness, inadequacy. Physical symptoms such as decreased or increased appetite, difficulty sleeping and low interest in daily activities are also symptomatic. They show low activity levels because everything else is an effort and they have little energy.

Do:

• Let the student know you’re aware s/he is feeling down and you would like to help.
• Reach out more than halfway and encourage the student to express how they are feeling.
• These students are often reluctant to talk initially, yet attention from others helps students feel more worthwhile.
• Tell the student your concern for him/her.

Don’t

• Say, “Don’t worry,” “Crying won’t help”, or “Everything will be better tomorrow.”
• Be afraid to ask whether the student is suicidal if you think they may be.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. The suicidal person is intensely ambivalent about killing themselves and typically responds to help; suicidal states are definitely time limited and most who commit suicide are neither crazy nor psychotic.

High risk indicators include: feelings of hopelessness and futility; a severe or threat of loss; a detailed suicidal plan; history of previous attempt; history of alcohol or drug abuse; and feelings of alienation and isolation. Suicidal students usually want to communicate their feelings; any opportunity to do so should be encouraged.

Do

• Take the student seriously—80% of those attempting suicide give warning of their intent.
• Acknowledge that a threat or attempt at suicide is a plea for help.
• Be available to listen, to talk, to be concerned, but refer the student to the Counseling Center or Student Health Center when you are getting overwhelmed.
• Care for yourself. Helping someone who is suicidal is hard, demanding and draining work.

Don’t

• Minimize the situation or depth of feeling, e.g., “Oh, it will be much better tomorrow.”
• Be afraid to ask the person if s/he is so depressed or sad that they want to hurt themselves: “You seem so upset and discouraged that I am wondering if you are considering suicide.”
• Over commit yourself and, therefore, not be able to deliver on what you promise.
• Ignore your limitations

Do

• Share your observations and concerns with the person
• Remember your referral list
• Seek assistance from campus police in cases of intoxication or inappropriate behavior
• Remember substance abuse is often a symptom of other serious mental or emotional disorders

Don’t

• Ignore the problem
• Pass judgment or criticize
• Criticize, lecture or offer anecdotal stories about the dangers of substance abuse
• Enable the person’s behavior by covering for him/her out of sympathy
• Be manipulated into believing there is not a problem

Students usually become verbally abusive when in frustrating situations that they see as being beyond their control; anger and frustration become displaced from these situations to you. Typically, the anger is not directed at you personally.

Do

• Acknowledge their anger and frustration: “I hear how angry you are.”
• Rephrase what they are saying and identify their emotion: “I can see how upset you are because you feel your rights are being violated and nobody will listen.”
• Allow them to ventilate and tell you what is upsetting them.
• Reduce stimulation; invite the person to your office or another quiet place (If you feel comfortable doing so).
• Tell them you are not willing to accept their verbally abusive language.
• Tell them they are violating your personal space and to please move back (if they are getting physically close): “Please stand back. You are too close.”
• Help the person problem-solve and deal with the real issues when s/he becomes more calm.

Don’t

• Get into an argument or shouting match.
• Become hostile or punitive yourself: “You can’t talk to me that way!”
• Press for explanation or reasons for their anger.
• Look away and not deal with the situation.
• Give away your own rights as a person.

Adapted with permission from VA Tech English Department

Principles and Purposes

Creative writing assignments develop the creativity of student writers, which necessarily involves allowing them freedom of expression. Students should not feel that the program monitors and threatens them with disciplinary action for the themes and language they choose. Instructors should not feel that they must take on the roles of therapists or police officers—roles for which they have no professional training. Occasionally, however, student writing can create an unwelcoming environment for peers or raise questions about the author’s mental state, and the instructor may feel the need to address these issues. This guide offers a series of questions to help instructors think through the disturbing elements in student writing, and it outlines strategies, resources, and procedures for taking appropriate actions. 

Identifying Disturbing Writing

Everyone’s sense of what is disturbing will differ. We recommend that instructors follow their own instincts and common sense when determining what constitutes disturbing writing. Probably at the core, we’re concerned about writing that seems to warn of potential harm to self or others, or writing that reflects a deep desperation. Themes of violence and gruesome details might be markers, but they do not in themselves establish a problem. Outright threats are more problematic. The following questions may help you assess the student’s situation and whether what’s disturbing reflects creative exploration or something more idiosyncratic. 

1. Is the creative work excessively violent? Do characters respond to everyday events with a level or kind of violence one does not expect, or may even find frightening? If so, does the violence seem more expressive of rage and anger than it does of a literary aesthetic or a thematic purpose? 
2. Are the characters’ thoughts as well as actions violent or threatening? Do characters think about or question their violent actions? If one set of characters demonstrate no self-awareness or moral consciousness, are other characters aware of or disturbed by what has taken place? In other words, does the text reveal the presence of a literary sensibility mediating and making judgments about the characters’ thoughts and actions, or does it suggest unmediated venting of rage and anger? If the literary sensibility is missing, is the student receptive to adding that layer and to learning how to do so?
3. Is this the student’s first piece of violent writing? If yes, what is the nature of his or her other work? Is violence at the center of everything the student has written, or does other writing suggest that violence is something the student is experimenting with for literary effect?
4. Are the violent actions in the work so disturbing or so extreme as to suggest they go beyond any possible sense of purpose in relation to the larger narrative? Do they seem to be the point of the piece, or a component? Does the nature of the violence—or the nature of the writing overall—suggest extreme depression or suicidal inclinations? Is the writing full of expressions of hostility toward other racial or ethnic groups?
5. Is the writing threateningly misogynistic, homophobic, racist, or in any way expressive of a mindset that may pose a threat to other students?

Responding to disturbing writing

Once you’ve decided you are concerned about a piece of writing, we suggest you move through the following steps. If you feel even a hint of threat to yourself or other students, however, please do not try to meet with the student alone nor try to solve the problem alone. You should contact the Dean of Student Life and your department chair who can consider and advise on possible next steps. 

Step 1: Instructor talks informally with the student

If you suspect that the disturbing features of the writing are literary in nature, talk to the student about the writing. Try to make this discussion as informal as possible. You’re after honest and direct give-and-take. It may be best to do this before or after class, or in a common area, rather than having the student come by your office. If the student seems at all threatening, do not meet the student alone. 

It may be a good idea to let the student talk as much as he or she wants. You’re after a fuller sense of the person behind the writing. Try to keep an open mind. Listen carefully to the student. 

Try to open up the conversation in a way that makes the writer comfortable. One way to increase comfort is to focus on the text itself, not on the student writer. You might consider asking about the inspiration for the piece. Was it inspired by an image or idea, some event in the news or some bit of history, or was it inspired by another piece of writing? Allow the student to contextualize what he or she has written. Most writers will be able to give you some sense of how their writing began and evolved. Ask the student to discuss the motivation of the characters, and their sense of how different imagery or actions will function in relation to the overall effect of the work. Try to touch on any published works the student feels are relevant. If students have read authors such as Stephen King or Anne Rice or Chuck Palahniuk, these influences may give insight into the disturbing material in the writing. 

At this point, it may be appropriate to offer your best counsel to the student and to provide as much support as possible in helping the student deal with any issues you perceive as a result of your meeting. If the student offers personal information suggesting a need or wish for help, or if the student seems unable or unwilling to discuss the piece in literary terms, encourage the student to visit the Counseling and Testing Center. You can volunteer to accompany the student or call to arrange for the student to be seen by a counselor. Follow through at a later class to see if the student has gone. 

Please document your meetings and advice by writing down the date, specific advice given, and outcomes you know. 

If after this meeting you continue to be concerned about the student and his or her writing, if you think you are dealing with a student whose writing suggests that he may present a threat to self or other students, move on to Step Two. 

Step 2: Instructor consults with the Department Chair

If your conversation with the student does not convince you that the disturbing features of the writing are literary in intent, consult with your department chair. Share the writing in question, explain the situation in detail, review notes from your meeting with the student, and seek advice about interacting with the student. Try to present a thorough picture of the student and his or her writing.    

Step 3: Involve other University staff 

It is important to recognize one’s limitations in mental health diagnosis and treatment and in law enforcement, and for such issues, it seeks the support of specialists beyond the department.  Instructors should consult with the BETA Team, Office of Community Standards or Dean of Students, who may advise or initiate contact with other campus specialists. Psychologists and counselors at the Counseling Center offer consultation about identifying and responding to mental health issues. 

Concluding Thoughts

Judging writing and student intentions is an interpretive act. It is impossible to predict behavior on the basis of writing alone. When writing teachers are concerned about a student, their best service is to encourage that student to engage with specialists. We offer these guidelines caring about our students both as developing writers and as human beings. Guidelines help us think through situations, but they cannot tell us what to do in any absolute sense.  The discussion of the student’s writing should be undertaken with deep concern for the privacy of the student and his or her right to free expression. The concern of the parties involved in responding to disturbing writing should be the possibility that the student’s writing is so disturbing that further action or intervention may be the wisest course of action.  

One role of creative writing is to disturb and disrupt comfortable, uncritiqued assumptions. Disruption that leads to new understanding is one of its contributions to culture.  

Some of the greatest writing in the history of our literature, from Catullus to Kafka to Toni Morrison, is deeply disturbing. Intervention with students as a result of writing that pushes limits or is violent should be recommended only when there is genuine and deep concern upon the part of all involved that the writing in question is more of a call for help or a screamed threat than it is in any sense a literary creation.

It is the responsibility of Faculty and Staff to report any type of behavior or threat of behavior that could potentially harm members of the University of Colorado Denver or campus community. The Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment Team recommends that a faculty or staff member never make a promise of confidentiality to a student.

What is an Educational Record?

FERPA starts with the simple concept that it applies only to student education records

• An educational record is anything that personally identifies a student that is kept in a written or recorded medium by college officials
  • Also includes anything that could easily lead to the personal identification of a student

What is Not an Educational Record?

One of the most important understandings to have about FERPA is that what a college official sees, hears, experiences or personally observes is not governed by FERPA – AT ALL – unless it is drawn from a written or recorded record or it is subsequently memorialized in a written or recorded form

• At which point, only release of information from the written or recorded version is governed by FERPA
• What the official saw, heard or observed can still be shared with anyone the official wants. It is not part of an educational record
  • Your observations and any concerns that arise from them are not protected under FERPA and can be shared.

During the early 1970’s, privacy issues in all areas became hot political topics. Parents and students submitted horror stories of schools creating education records and then refusing to allow the parents and students to look at the contents of those records. Students were being passed over for honors and university admissions, and were being disciplined for reasons that were not disclosed. Not only were students not allowed to correct their own education records, but in some cases, students were being refused access to their own records. In response, Congress passed FERPA, a federal law governing the privacy of education records. FERPA grants four specific rights to any student who is or has been in attendance at an institution of higher education in relation to their education records:

1. The right to inspect and view education records;
2. The right to seek amendment to education records if there are inaccuracies;
3. The right to consent to any disclosure of education records; and
4. The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education FERPA Compliance Office.

In connection with the third right listed above, FERPA imposes certain restrictions on the ability of any federally-funded school, college or university to release information pertaining to a student’s education record. Because all University of Colorado campuses receive federal funds, each campus has adopted procedures that comply with FERPA restrictions.

UC Denver Legal Counsel has provided some excellent information regarding FERPA and how it applies on our campus. They specifically address FERPA as it relates to students that may pose a danger to themselves or other and safety/emergency situations. To learn more check out the publications below:

• FERPA and Campus Safety
• FERPA and How it Applies to UC Denver

When considering a referral for a student, it is very important to remember that students may be hesitant to the idea of assistance. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to mental health counseling or even academic skills assistance which prevents many students from taking advantage of the many different resources our campus offers. The UC Denver Student and Community Counseling Center offers more than just mental/emotional health counseling. The following is a short list of the many services the center provides:

• Individual, Couples, and Family Counseling
• Groups on various topics including, “How to Quit Smoking”, “How Reduce Stress”, “How to Maintain a Relationship” etc.
• Tips on reducing test anxiety and how to study better
• Learning disability assessment

Suggestions for a Successful Referral

• Know where the counseling center is located and get to know a counselor or two by name – easier to refer to a person
  • Students get 10 sessions per semester that are already paid for with their student fees
• If possible, offer to walk a student to the center – this shows that you care and allows you to know if the student followed through on visiting the center

When to Refer to Our Office

The Office of Community Standards and Wellness primarily deals with student conduct and behavioral issues.  Should the disruption rise to this level our office is an appropriate resource.  It is important that you familiarize yourself with the Student Code of Conduct.

• After initial attempts to address the behavior have failed
• You know that you cannot handle the behavior
• You believe personality differences will interfere with your ability to resolve the situation
• You are unsure how to proceed

Our response will vary greatly depending on:

• Nature and Severity of the behaviors and concerns
• Actions and attempts made by faculty/staff to address concerns
• Determination of Code of Conduct Violation

Our response may include:

• Summary Suspension or other immediate action where there is an immediate threat
• Conduct hearing and/or mediated conversation with student and faculty
• Consultation and guidance
• Referral to Chair or Dean for Academic Review

Our goal is to resolve issues informally whenever possible.

Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment Team

The Behavioral Assessment and Threat Assessment Team (BETA) is a new resource at the University of Colorado Denver that can provide resources and information to faculty, staff or student community members who are confronted with individuals who may be threatening, disruptive, or otherwise problematic. The Team provides guidance and consultation and may make referrals to appropriate campus or community resources

Contact BETA by calling 303-566-3682 or submitting the Concern Form online.