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Graham-Greenlee Update
September 2007
The events that have taken place on the UA campus at the start of the school year are both tragic and sad. The UA Parents & Family Association knows that these events are particularly disturbing at the start of a school year that is full of hope and promise. We want to share with you some additional information about the events that took place this month in Graham-Greenlee Hall in an effort to help our parent and student community regain the hope and promise of a new year. The information we are able to share is limited due to the ongoing criminal investigation and student privacy laws.
University of Arizona Police Officers arrived at Graham-Greenlee Hall two minutes after the initial 911 call was made and were able to quickly and carefully determine that Monday morning’s incident only involved the two residents of the hall and that at no time was any other member of our student, faculty, or staff community in any harm. Whenever UAPD responds to an incident of this nature, in addition to working to secure and contain the event, the well being of the entire UA community is always taken into consideration. The response and communication to the UA community would have been different if at any point the police had felt any aspect of our community was in jeopardy.
Communications went out to students, faculty, staff and parents via email early Wednesday to let all know that an event took place and that there was no threat to the community. Students were encouraged to attend classes and also seek the professional support of our Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) staff at their Highland Commons Office if they felt the need to do so. CAPS staff has also been on the scene at Graham-Greenlee Hall and at the office of Native American Student Affairs to support students and staff in those communities. Students who need to seek counseling support should call (520) 621-3334 and schedule an appointment with one of our counseling staff. Parents can also call the same number and ask for “Parents Matter,” a service offered by CAPS to connect parents with counselors in times of crisis.
When an incident takes place in a residence hall, meetings are held with Residence Life staff to ensure that they have accurate information and resources to pass along to students. Wing meetings are held throughout residence halls to connect with students and Resident Assistants staff makes dedicated efforts to reach out to individual students in their care. Similar responses would be led by out off campus housing staff, academic college staff, or other centers of student community, depending on the location of the incident.
Many efforts are underway to help affected communities and individuals heal from these events. For a time, the Native American Student Center in Nugent was open 24 hours a day to provide a gathering place for community members. Private Native American ritual ceremonies took place in Graham-Greenlee as part of the cleansing and community rebuilding process.
Individual students living as part of the Native American student living-learning community in Graham-Greenlee were all personally contacted by staff. As always, we are paying close attention to the needs of our students during this time and are mobilizing resources as additional needs become necessary.
UA administration and UAPD take all reports of crimes very seriously and aggressively investigate all reports. Any formal or informal report made by a student that indicates they might be in harm’s way receives immediate response and steps are taken to remove students from a potentially threatening situation. This includes reports of incidents in residence halls, academic settings, clubs and organizations, etc.
We cannot promise to completely eradicate acts of violence from our campus, but working together as UA students, faculty, staff, and parents, we can promote the caring nature our community is best known for.
News Archives
Both national and local issues affect UA students throughout the year. The Dean of Students Office occasionally posts information relating to these issues, and these articles may be found at:
"UA Preparedness to Crises"
"Black Theme Party"
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