(EAU CLAIRE) Governorâ??s Task Force on Campus Safety held its second meeting at UW-Eau Claire yesterday (TH), where the focus was complex mental health issues on campuses.
The Task Force started its work after the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus. While shootings are rare, university officials say suicides, threats and serious mental health problems are not. Keynote presenter was Professor Gary Pavela, a nationally known expert on laws that affect students. He says often one part of a campus doesnâ??t know that another has already dealt with a problem student. He says a student may exhibit a pattern in the classroom, in the residence hall or the student union, or the campus police have had some interaction with the student, and often, no one ties it all together. He says thereâ??s nothing â??holisticâ? about the image of the student. (Fifth item.)