Student Affairs mobilizes to support students after tragic shooting
Following Sunday's deadly shooting on campus, Student Affairs units responded swiftly to offer crucial support to students affected by the event and played a pivotal role in providing resources, guidance and care to ensure students were emotionally, physically and academically supported.
Counseling and Psych Services, part of Campus Health, worked to expand student access to mental health services by offering free in-person and virtual drop-in hours.
That work began late Sunday, when professional and student staff members from Housing and Residential Life showed up to help, said Amanda Kraus, interim vice president for student affairs.
"Housing’s on-call and live-in staff responded to the many residents who live in dorms very close to the scene who heard gunshots and saw the police activity," she said. "They were calming residents down, getting information out, providing comfort and support."
Before dawn, Kraus said, other directors in Student Affairs began mobilizing "and they did not stop the whole day."
Amanda Kraus is the interim vice president for student affairs.
Counseling and Psych Services worked to expand access to mental health services by offering free in-person and virtual drop-in hours at both CAPS locations, and had CAPS counselors at campus cultural and resource centers. Drop-in support was offered at Arizona-Sonora dorm throughout the day.
Throughout the week, CAPS continued to offer multiple times, locations and Zoom options for students to meet with counselors.
"CAPS went above and beyond," Kraus said.
In addition to directing website visitors to a Coping with Gun Violence webpage, CAPS activated its caps.arizona.edu/support page, which serves as a centralized mental health information and resource hub for the university during critical events.
"Having all lines of communication lead to a single place for information decreases confusion and make it easier for students to access support," said Aaron T. Barnes, director of CAPS.
"Our goal at CAPS is to make it easier for students to get mental health support when they need it. This is especially important after a traumatic event," he said. "In the coming weeks, it will be important to continue to be in touch with impacted students and ensure they are aware of available resources and allow them to access these resources on a timeline that works for them."
Aaron T. Barnes is director of Counseling and Psych Services.
The Dean of Students Office sent notifications to both students and professors to address the impact of the shooting. These communications provided guidance on accessing mental health resources and asked faculty to be flexible in accommodating students who were unable to participate in or attend class.
This week, the Student Behavioral Education team in Housing and Residential Life connected with numerous dorm residents to offer support. Housing and Residential Life also has helped coordinate informal CAPS sessions in dorms to share resources and to allow students to connect with each other.
In addition, the unit also posted CAPS support resources on social media, reaching students as well as parents.
The collaborative effort of Student Affairs underscores the U of A's commitment to the well-being of its students, especially during times of crisis, Kraus said.
"Student Affairs offers a comprehensive support system 365 days a year," she said. "Supporting students is always our priority, especially during challenging times like what we have faced this week."