By: Reader

Reader
Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:27:37 +0000

“All members of University Police go through a 40-hour crisis intervention training, and although police can be an added stressor at times, they do their best to de-escalate the situation while maintaining the student’s privacy.”

This is so well-intentioned; however, “do their best” to maintain privacy is a far cry from talking to someone bound by HIPPA, especially seen through the lens of someone in crisis.

I think the stigma of going to the police or emergency room for emotional distress is dissuasive enough that these should not be considered options that have a reasonable chance of adoption, as much as the administration would clearly like to lean on these services. If they want this to be what students do, the (hopefully, lack of) consequences (monetary burden, possible public record of the crisis, reputational harm) should be made as clear, so that students do not over-estimate the resulting damage and then fail to seek help.