By Tara Conry

On the verge of completing his first semester of college, no one suspected Greg Gatto needed help. When the 19-year-old University freshman committed suicide in late November 2004, it forced the campus community to re-assess its support system and experiment with innovative ways of reaching out to students who are struggling in silence.

According to the Web site for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death among teens, especially college students.

Outraged by the ongoing epidemic of suicide among young people, a group of University students are forcing the entire campus community to assume responsibility for their actions and the welfare of their peers.

Junior psychology major, Jonathan Budd, along with University students, Trisha Murphy and Tim Hall formed a club on campus “that serves the purpose of providing awareness about various topics and creating a caring, considerate Hofstra.”

“There wasn’t a place where people could go to just talk about what’s on their mind without talking to therapists,” Murphy, psychology major and cofounder, said. She added that many students equate therapy with the notion that there is something wrong with them.

“Counselors are paid to listen,” Murphy said, stating that volunteer peer counseling can be more effective because students are connecting with people who genuinely care and are dealing with the same issues.

Appropriately named The Community, the club was approved by the Student Government Association (SGA) on Dec. 7, after a two month appeals process. The request to form the club met opposition by SGA, who questioned whether the group would be a liability for the University and the dangers that could result from students soliciting unlicensed counseling to their peers.

“The Senate sidelined the club based on stereotypes and speculations,” Matt Anderson, chief justice of SGA’s judicial panel, said. Anderson said Budd filed a complaint to the judicial board against SGA and their advisor, Denise Harris. The complaint stated that SGA denied Budd his right to start a club despite approval by the rules committee on Oct. 3.

“Other clubs do not have to go through this lengthy process to earn approval,” Anderson said, adding that once the judicial panel agreed to hear Budd’s complaint, the Senate agreed to vote on the club.

“The Community never claimed they would offer professional advice, they just wanted a place where any University student could hang out and develop a sense of community,” Anderson said, agreeing with the club’s argument that anyone who walks through the unispan will notice the absence of a friendly environment.

At the Senate meeting regarding the fate of The Community, a passionate Budd responded to the attacks against the club’s motives: “A student committed suicide weeks ago, so what good are we if that student did not have someone that they felt comfortable talking to.”

The club was passed under the terms that the organization does not intend on misleading students into believing they are licensed therapists and they agree to “establish relationships with the administration and refer students to professional help.”

Budd never met Gatto, but said news of his death provoked sadness and frustration, as well as sympathy. Budd admitted that at 16 he was on a path of destruction and without the help of a counselor during the eight months he spent in rehab, he would not be alive today.

“She cared for me in a real way and helped me believe that I was worth changing,” Budd said. “I want to give back and let other people know they are worth it too.”

Many students are unaware that they are entitled to three free counseling sessions at the Saltzman Center, where licensed professionals are available to meet with students by appointment or can assist during emergencies.

Despite annual flyers, many faculty members are unfamiliar with the Request for Early Assistance and Coordinating Help program (R.E.A.C.H.), which encourages professors to contact the office of New Student Support if a student exhibits suspicious behavior in class. Representatives in this department, as well as Residential Life, the Counseling Center and the Dean’s Office have left many unanswered messages to check-up on troubled students; yet Gatto and other students on college campuses across the country have slipped through the system.

“All institutions of higher education are concerned about students’ social, academic and emotional needs,” Dr. John Guthman, director of Student Counseling Services, said. “We are working to provide the support they need to get through their collegiate years.”

An important part of the University’s support system is that different departments work as a team to provide outreach to students, Guthman said.

“It is important how we approach students when offering counseling,” Guthman said, noting that private and group counseling is available. “Students benefit from the support of friends and family who can present counseling in a low-key, non-threatening way.”

Guthman said that depeding on the seriousness of the issue and the student, the Counseling Center will advise a person on how to help their loved one or suggest the best way to introduce seeking the counsel of a trained professional.”

“Some faculty don’t want to intervene or students don’t want to divulge information to their professors, so many times the faculty are not fully aware that there are problems,” Jennifer Boscarino-Green, assistant dean of students and director of New Student Support Services, said. “Many times students perform well in class and the warning signs are not apparent.”

She has spoken at faculty meetings to explain how the R.E.A.C.H. program helps target students that might be struggling coping with the transition process.

Boscarino-Green said while she provides guidance to students regarding financial problems and student activities she refers those with personal problems to professional therapists.

“Sometimes we want to help someone, but the student doesn’t want help,” she said. “Students are here for their own development, so we cannot solve their problems for them all the time.”

“Students are adults and we respect them like adults,” Lynda O’Malley, associate dean of students, said. “We have trained counselors, residential assistants and chaplains and most of us in the dean of student’s office have backgrounds in counseling, but student have to meet us halfway.”

O’Malley said when students come to her office to discuss their behavior she tries to get to know the whole student and understand what drove the student to engage in risky behavior.

“I’ve made many phone calls to follow-up on students, but they do not call back,” she said.

Despite setbacks, Guthman stressed that above all the University must keep students connected to support.

Like the Saltzman Center, The Community intends to provide students with a caring, relaxed atmosphere that students may feel more comfortable in than talking with professional therapists. (Harry Tanielyan/The Chronicle)