A panel of experts will talk about safety issues incoming college students should know.

By Jake BOWMAN

On Monday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m., the Crescenta Valley High School auditorium will host a panel of experts, former students and counselors to discuss college safety. Members of the community have organized this event in response to the recent deaths of CVHS alumni, from suicide and alcohol poisoning.

“So many data points indicate that we do well preparing students academically for college. We are now trying to do better with the social and emotional preparation,” said CVHS Principal Dr. Linda Junge.

“As parents, we talk about this kind of stuff,” said Usha Archer, head of the CVHS Parent Teacher Student Association.

Monday’s event is a way to bring to more members of the community into that conversation, added Archer. The goal is to help tackle the issue of college safety from multiple perspectives – from what the students might encounter in college and how to handle these situations safely to providing resources for parents.

The issue of college safety is a concern for many parents, but it is often not a topic of conversation among students. This event will bring in several current and former college students to discuss what college life is like and what kind of experiences students can expect.

“We have a social responsibility,” said Joy McCreary, a CVHS alumna and recent UCLA graduate.

It’s important to not only honor a social contract, but to also understand what legal resources are available, McCreary continued.

Common questions to be covered on Monday night include defining what is a Title IX complaint and how can one be filed, what rights are protected by FERPA [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] and what rights do parents have? McCreary has also stated that she will be covering the issue of on-campus jobs and how working on campus makes students  “mandated reporters.”

“If you know something, you have to say something,” said McCreary.

Alongside McCreary, the panel will feature Steve Silver, a psychologist and outreach coordinator, Alejandro Zavala, an alcohol and drug addiction counselor, Janelle Evans, the head counselor at CVHS, Dana Dowse, an Alpha Chi Omega chapter president, Austin Novak, a CVHS alumnus and college student, and Mary O’Keefe, CVW crime/education reporter and community member.

“We want students to know they are not alone when they go to college,” O’Keefe said. “There have been college safety seminars in the past and there has been a lot of positive feedback from people who attended them. We just want students to know about the different ways they can get help.”

The event will feature the panelists first speaking then taking questions from the audience. Though some topics may not be appropriate for younger students, parents and upper level students are encouraged to attend. More people attending means more people are involved in the conversation.

In an email sent out to members of the school district, Junge said, “I am hopeful that, standing together to discuss these important topics with experts, we can save lives as we prepare students to confront new experiences, decisions and challenges.”

College Safety Night will be held at the CVHS MacDonald Auditorium, 4400 block of Ramsdell Avenue, on Monday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. and is free to attend.

  Jake BOWMAN