9-11 - An Open Letter to the UNH Campus 
To the UNH Campus:
Our students and members of this community are in the throes of dealing with a tragedy of immense proportions. We can all play a role in helping one another deal with these unthinkable events to facilitate healing and recovery. I wanted to offer some thoughts and suggestions as you deal with students in class, in formal and informal gatherings, and on an individual basis. Some of these ideas are very basic but worth reviewing:
- A crisis situation is one in which an individual's typical coping responses don't work or may be less effective than usual.
- An individual's response to a crisis is very individualized. We must be careful not to judge another's response, especially if it's different from our own. For many individuals some form of active volunteering in most helpful, so some direction as to how this is possible could be useful.
- The thoughts, feelings, and behaviors experienced may be in response to the event at hand as well as previous (and potentially unresolved) events from the past.
- A sense of anxiety and panic would be absolutely predictable in response to yesterday's events. There is so much we don't know; trying to find answers to explain such a tragedy is normal. Without available explanations, the attempt to find answers may take on a flavor of desperation and seem frantic in nature. We can help by allowing people to identify and discharge all the questions, fears, and uncertainties going through their heads. It's important to validate the concerns rather than talk people out of them. In the rare instance where this approach seems to escalate feelings, you may want to refer that person to the Counseling Center. Remember, in crisis situations some people may not respond in their typical rational way.
- In crisis situations, we can sometimes help people by engaging in a problem solving approach. This would include identifying the issues and then going through a step-by-step process to identify possible solutions for resolving the problem. For example, the concern may be that the student has a family member who works in the World Trade Center. The need is to know if that family member is alright. The problem solving steps are to find various ways to communicate with the family member or someone else who will know if the person is okay. Also identify what the person can and cannot do, what's within their control?
- Let students know the resources available on campus. These would include their faculty, administrative advisors, student affairs staff, chaplains, counseling center staff, HR/RA's, and their fellow students.
- It is often helpful for people to just be with one another during times of crises. Saying the "right" words isn't the most important thing, feeling connected to people close to you is more important. There's probably more to say, but in the interest of getting this out to those of you who have class today and want to process with students, I'll close.
Feel free to contact the Counseling Center 862-2090 if you have questions.
David M.J.Cross Ph.D Director