Student Accountability

Responding to Disturbing or Excessively Violent Student Writing Policy

Union University provides a creative writing environment in which students should feel free to express themselves and grow in the discipline of writing. Students should not feel an undue layer of restraint on their writing.

However, when a faculty encounters writing that raises uneasiness about the writer's mental state and/or creates a potentially hostile classroom environment, the professor should use common sense about addressing the issue. Baseline concerns would include, but are not limited to, outright threats to self or others, or writing that reflects a deep desperation.

Other screening questions include but are not limited to:

• Is the work excessively violent?
• Does the violence seem more expressive of rage and anger than it does a literary, aesthetic, or thematic purpose?
• Is a character in the creative work aware of or disturbed by what has taken place? (e.g., is there unmediated venting or rage or anger, or is there literary sensibility that makes judgments on the characters' thoughts and action?)
• Is this the first piece of violent writing from the student? Is the nature of disturbing violence a constant or growing theme?
• 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?
• Does the writing direct violence towards a particular race, ethnicity, or gender?

Screening questions for violence towards self include, but are not limited to:

• Are there themes of hopelessness, despair, and isolation?
• Is there an excessive sense of worthlessness, self-blame, or "badness?"
• If the student mentions self -harm, is there a specific plan? Is it realistic?
• Is there a known or self -disclosed student history of suicide, depression, violence, or impulsivity?
• Is there a fascination with death or weapons?

Example - Action Steps During Phase I, department level interaction:

1. A copy of the paper should be made for the department record.
2. Whenever possible, the professor should talk with the student informally one-on-one to discuss the writing. The professor should listen carefully and ask specific questions about the inspiration for the piece, the motivation of characters, and the influence of other authors.
3. The professor should make careful notes of the informal meeting. If questions and concerns are not resolved after the meeting, the professor should consult with the chair of the English Department and/or the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. (Notes should include the date and time of the meeting, discussion notes, and action steps.) Subsequent action steps could include evaluation of the next paper in consultation with the chair or dean, discussion about the conversation with the chair or dean, and/or consultation with the counseling office or Office of the Vice President for Student Life.
4. If the professor feels personally threatened, the professor should never meet alone with the student but should involve the chair or academic dean. The Chair of the English Department or Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences will be available to conduct the meeting or sit in on the meeting with the student.
5. During the meeting, the professor should call 911, the 24/7 Security Cell phone, 731-394-2922, the Office of the Vice President for Student Life, 731-661-5090 or Counseling Services 731-661-5322 if they feel there is an immediate threat to self or others. If referring the student to counseling, the professor should make a note of the reference and follow up with the student at a specific subsequent date.
6. The Director of Counseling Services will require the student to sign an attendance release form allowing the Director of Counseling to confirm to the professor that the evaluation took place.
7. The professor should contact the Director of Counseling and give her information regarding the nature of the issue and information about the upcoming meeting.
8. The professor should make a note on his or her calendar to follow up with the Director of Counseling Services within one week of the referral (sooner, if needed) to ensure the meeting between the student and the Director of Counseling Services took place. Any further recommendations regarding the student will be given by the Director of Counseling Services to the student and the Vice President for Student Life if warranted.
9. No detailed information may be given from the Director of Counseling to the professor without a full release from the student. However, the professor is free to inform the Director of Counseling of all concerns prior to the counseling evaluation. If a student does not follow up and undergo a counseling evaluation, the student can be required by the Vice President for Student Life to go to the counseling evaluation (See Campus Life Handbook, Emotional Stability of Students) based on the recommendation of the professor and department chair.

Example - Action Steps During Phase II, university-wide interaction:

1. If conversations between the professor, chair and/or Dean of Arts and Sciences and the student do not result in confidence that the student is not at risk to self or others, a call by the professor, chair, or dean must be placed to the Vice President for Student Life.
2. The professor must provide evidence of disturbing writing and dates and/or notes on which conversations occurred that resulted in further concern about the student.
3. The Vice President for Student Life may also require an evaluation of the student by a licensed counselor and recommendation from the counselor that the student may remain a part of our community and is not at risk to self or others. (See Campus Life Handbook, Emotional Stability of Students)
4. If a professor feels threatened and is uneasy about a student's readmission to his or her classroom, the professor should submit in writing a request to the dean. The academic dean would convene an evaluation committee (that may include but is not limited to the Director of Counseling, Office of the Provost, and Vice President for Student Life) and recommend next steps.

For issues of inappropriate student behavior, please refer to the Campus Life Handbook (e.g., Personal Abuse, Insubordination, and Emotional Stability of Students).

The following is a resource from Utah Valley University's Disturbing Writing: Guidelines for Faculty.