Understanding and Addressing Student Anger on Today's College Campus
Instructors: Paul Clark, M. Div & Mark Kenney, M. Ed.
CLOSED
Course Overview:
Although the current millennial student has been identified as a generation with many positive attributes, this course is focused on a segment of this population who are experiencing non-clinical mental health issues with loneliness and disconnection on a college campus. This program is designed to address the general college student population's developmental challenges with emotional expression and relational skills through a campus wide non-therapeutic student organizational group experience. Through the utilization of psychological theories and a spiritual framework based upon principles of nonviolence, the presenters will share their journey from teaching a course on nonviolence, to the creation of the Phil Berrigan Institute of Nonviolence, and to the formation of student participants within this institute. Based upon our theoretical framework and the students' experiences, this program will show how the power of group interaction helped reduce individual negative emotional expression and increased relational connection with others which resulted in changing students' actions toward addressing issues of injustice beyond themselves. At the end of this program, participants will begin the process of creating their own student group possibilities based upon their professional field and interests.
Course Overview:
This three week course will:
identify the potential emotional challenges for some contemporary college students in building healthy campus community and relational connections
provide a theoretical framework for enhanced understanding of these salient emotional and relational challenges as well as healthy connections based upon psychological, spiritual, and nonviolent philosophies and practices
provide an example of an active student organization that has successfully addressed these challenges on individual, group and institutional levels
Learning Outcomes
Identify key issues and concerns for some of today's college students that could contribute to their emotional distress and that could lead to feelings of loneliness on a college campus.
Exploration of the salience of loneliness and healthy connection through the application of existential and narrative therapy theories along with the examination of an active student organization based upon principles of nonviolence
Application of nonviolence principles by a student group resulting in supportive and healthy connections between themselves and purposeful nonviolent actions that informed their campus community
Creation of an action plan for a comparable student organization on one's own campus
Course Outline Week #1:
Conceptual Framework to understand the issues and concerns of contemporary college students that has resulted in emotional crisis for some members of this population
Participation in an introductory activity with all participants
Explanation of Brofenbrenner's Ecological Model to examine the impact on systems on college student development
Exploration of the multiple identities of students and generational cohort experiences through self-application and application to the students by using the Dimensions of Personal Identity model
Identification of themes of challenge confronted by some of the Millennial generation and identification of the psychological research on the salience of loneliness resulting in the crisis of disconnection leading to feelings of isolation, alienation, anger, and rage
Week #2: Further examination of the salience of loneliness and healthy connection through examination of a deep experiential framework and through the application of existential and narrative therapy theories
Explanation of the Wounds and Healings conceptual framework along with Kenneth Patchen poetry
Deeper exploration of the concept of loneliness as it applies to today's college student through the work of Dr. John T. Cacioppo
Identification of potential methods of increase self-awareness, restorative and healthier connections through the application existential and narrative therapy theories
Identification of significant elements in building nonviolent community
Week #3: Examination and application of nonviolence principles in creating an experiential activity resulting in supportive connections to build community and purposeful actions to inform the community
Application of the principles of nonviolence in creating a group atmosphere of mutual respect and support
Deeper exploration of the concepts of healing and connection through the work of Martin Luther King Jr. (Principles of Nonviolence) and Philip Berrigan
Explanation of current campus wide nonviolence group experiences within group and on campus at a small liberal arts college
Discussion of participants reactions, adaptations, and application of their own action plans in creating a campus wide intervention for students
Weekly Schedule of Assignments
Week #1:
Day #1: Introductory Activity/single paragraph description
Day #2: Brofenbrenner Model and Dimensions of Personal Identity model
Day#3: Reactions to Day #2
Day #4: Reading of articles (2) and Listening to "Voices in the Family": College Students and Mental Health Illness/ Assignments given for Day #6
Day #5: Reactions to Day #4/Summation of the week
Week #2:
Day #6: Wounds/Healing Chart Notes, Patchen Poem (Street Corner College with exposition) and Radio Times: "Loneliness" program & Loneliness and the College Student: CampusBlues.com
Day #7: Reactions to Day #6
Day #8: Articles explaining existentialism and narrative theories and their connection to the Healing chart/ Radio program: "Voices in the Family": Community Building
Day #9: Reactions to Day #8/Assignments for Day #11: King and Principles of Nonviolence and Berrigan
Day #10: Summation of the week and a preview of the solution week
Week #3:
Day #11: Reactions to King (Principles of Nonviolence), Berrigan readings
Day #12: Explanation of current group experience
Day #13: Reactions to Day #12/Beginning to create one's own actions plans
Day #14: Sharing of action plans between participants
Day #15: Summation of the course and distribution of resource list
Instructor Bios: Paul Clark, M. Div. is the Chaplain and Director of the Multifaith Center at Albright College in Reading, PA. For fifteen years, he worked as a community organizer before shifting his focus to teaching and urban ministry. He has also spent many years working with people in recovery around issues relating to spiritual formation.
Mark Kenney, M. Ed. is a national certified counselor, a licensed professional counselor, and an adjunct lecturer at Chestnut Hill College in Allentown, PA. His professional experience includes counseling and teaching in higher education settings. His areas of specialization include gender issues, gay and lesbian issues, multiracial families, interracial relationships, and multicultural counseling and education. He has served the counseling profession on the national, state, and regional levels as AMCD North Atlantic Region representative, executive board member of the National Institute Multicultural Competence, and Past-President of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association. He is currently serving on the Association for MultiEthnic Americans executive board. Mr. Kenney is also co-author of Counseling Multiracial Families, by sage Publications and Counseling the Multiracial Population: Couples, Individuals, and Families, a training video.
