Office of the Assemblies

Dear Ekarina,

Thank you for submitting GPSA Resolution 12: Calling for the Creation of Graduate and Professional Student Specific ‘Notice and Respond: Friend 2 Friend’ Workshops.  I agree that having an effective bystander intervention program is an important part of strengthening support for community members in distress and can fit well in our comprehensive mental health framework.  I understand your interest in expanding this resource to the graduate and professional student population, especially because stressors associated with being a graduate and professional student are often quite different from the undergraduate experience, and because the Friend 2 Friend programs have been well received by Cornell undergrads. 

Before I commit to additional fundraising or the development of a graduate and professional “Notice and Respond: Friend 2 Friend” Workshop, I ask the GPSA to explore whether potential partners such as Cornell Health, the Graduate School, professional schools, or other units have a shared vision for the successful delivery of this program.  I also request that you include recommendations for specific goals, methods for engagement, and an evaluation plan for such a workshop.  The undergraduate Friend 2 Friend workshop has been successful primarily because the delivery model in place works well for our undergraduate community.  If the GPSA and partner units determine that a similar workshop is needed for graduate and professional students, I would ask to see a thoughtful plan describing how it could be presented to this target population. 

Without yet endorsing this resolution, I am willing to share it with the student members of the newly formed Graduate and Professional Student Mental Health Advisory Council.  This committee has been charged with providing feedback and making recommendations on mental health initiatives focused on graduate and professional students to the leadership of the Graduate School, professional schools, Cornell Health, the Behavioral Health committee, and to inform the Coalition on Mental Health.  The committee will begin meeting soon and will be in a position to help prioritize this activity among the many other efforts that are underway.  I encourage you to talk with Janna Lamey and Catherine Thrasher-Carroll about the value of including a GPSA member on the Advisory Council. 

Thank you again for your attention to this important topic.

Sincerely,

Martha Pollack