2008 Woodie Awards
Student Conflict Resolution Team helps solve disputes
Kyle Kuphal
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: News
Conflict is a fact of life. At school, at work or in personal relationships, conflict affects everyone.
Since 2005, the Student Conflict Resolution Team (SCRT) has offered assistance to help students deal more effectively with the conflicts they face.
SCRT offers free services such as mediation, conflict coaching, conflict help and tips (CHAT), communication tips and campus resources and referrals.
Communications professor Jeff Ringer first considered the use of mediation to resolve student conflicts after attending a conference in the mid-90s where he participated in a mediation workshop.
"After the workshop I realized that mediation is a way that students could apply their communication skills to a specific situation - conflict," Ringer said.
Ringer continued to take training in mediation and joined the SCSU Mediation Program, which mediates conflicts between SCSU employees.
"While volunteering for this program I asked if people felt it would be useful for students," Ringer said. "The response I got was 'yes.'"
Ringer then decided to teach a class on mediation and asked the students in the class if they would like to form a student organization to help other students manage their conflicts. Again the answer was "yes," and SCRT was formed.
Mediation is one way SCRT helps students resolve conflicts. Graduate student and adviser for the group, Becky Hoffman said when two parties are in a conflict, a mediator acts as a neutral party and helps the two parties communicate with each other in order to come to an agreement.
Before mediation can take place, a student must contact SCRT and explain the conflict. Then, the person with whom the student is experiencing a conflict must be interviewed in order to determine if mediation between the two parties would meet the standards SCRT has set.
"If both parties agree, we would proceed with mediation and they would meet with two student mediators," Hoffman said.
Since 2005, the Student Conflict Resolution Team (SCRT) has offered assistance to help students deal more effectively with the conflicts they face.
SCRT offers free services such as mediation, conflict coaching, conflict help and tips (CHAT), communication tips and campus resources and referrals.
Communications professor Jeff Ringer first considered the use of mediation to resolve student conflicts after attending a conference in the mid-90s where he participated in a mediation workshop.
"After the workshop I realized that mediation is a way that students could apply their communication skills to a specific situation - conflict," Ringer said.
Ringer continued to take training in mediation and joined the SCSU Mediation Program, which mediates conflicts between SCSU employees.
"While volunteering for this program I asked if people felt it would be useful for students," Ringer said. "The response I got was 'yes.'"
Ringer then decided to teach a class on mediation and asked the students in the class if they would like to form a student organization to help other students manage their conflicts. Again the answer was "yes," and SCRT was formed.
Mediation is one way SCRT helps students resolve conflicts. Graduate student and adviser for the group, Becky Hoffman said when two parties are in a conflict, a mediator acts as a neutral party and helps the two parties communicate with each other in order to come to an agreement.
Before mediation can take place, a student must contact SCRT and explain the conflict. Then, the person with whom the student is experiencing a conflict must be interviewed in order to determine if mediation between the two parties would meet the standards SCRT has set.
"If both parties agree, we would proceed with mediation and they would meet with two student mediators," Hoffman said.