Despite significant cultural attention on the phenomenon of school shootings, one of the most predictive dimensions of these tragedies is under-analyzed: gender. Men commit 98% of mass shootings, but robust discussion and research on this relationship is lacking. This dissertation investigates the relationship between masculinity and gun violence…

Objective: Sexual and dating violence (SV/DV) on college campuses is a pervasive problem with far-reaching implications for public health. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a widely disseminated SV/DV primary prevention program, the Red Flag Campaign (RFC). Participants and Methods: An online survey was administered to 203…

The view that colleges are generally safe has been challenged by threats of violence on campuses across the country, causing fear among stakeholders. Community college faculty are not immune to crime-related fear on campus; however, the research has largely ignored this population. This research serves to fill that gap. The purpose of this…

In the past several decades, the number of college students who experience mental health concerns has increased astronomically. During that time, acts of campus violence have increased as well. Unfortunately, many colleges have been unable to effectively meet the needs of students with mental disorders. This article explores the challenges…

A university president's preparation for a crisis is paramount to the wellbeing of a campus community and ultimately to the longevity of their tenure as the institution's leader. How do university leaders determine what constitutes a crisis for their institution, and once that decision has been made, whether or not to respond, and further, how to…

The authors make the argument that trauma journalism should be taught as part of the postsecondary curriculum in journalism schools. As part of that education, students will learn that coping with the psychological effects of repeated exposure to such events can have long-term impacts on their mental health. As Kohlberg and Rest found, students in…

With the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, exposés about Title IX investigations (e.g., University of Virginia, Florida State University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and the #MeToo campaign, there is renewed media focus on the topic of sexual assault on college campuses and in the wider culture.…

"Guns on Campus: The Architecture and Momentum of State Policy Action" offers a detailed summary of state legislative action and higher education system policy decisions that have occurred in two specific categories: (1) States that have permitted or are seeking to permit guns on campus; and (2) States that have prohibited or are seeking…

In the fall of 2017, the University of Florida (UF) and the city of Gainesville were part of a coda to a terrible event in recent U.S. history: the violent torch-wielding rally of white supremacists and extreme far-right groups in the college town of Charlottesville, Virginia, that left three people dead and at least 33 injured. These events…

In the past 15 years a number of school shootings have captured international attention and sparked heated debates. In the aftermath of such tragedies, those directly affected and people from all walks of life expressed their condolences in a variety of ways. Following the tragic events of April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech received tens of thousands…

One of the numerous responses to the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in April 2007 has been the call for higher education institutions in the United States to take an increased role in identifying troubled students. This has had widely felt effects, with educational institutions across the United States developing mechanisms such as Threat…

The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate a bystander behavior program at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences (JCHS) in Roanoke, Virginia. Specifically, this dissertation examined the: (1) preliminary measurement properties of a newly developed bystander behavior intention scale; (2) impact of the bystander intervention at JCHS; and…

On April 16, 2007, Seung Hui Cho, a livid and mentally ill student, shot to death 32 students and faculty of Virginia Tech, wounded many more people, and then killed himself. This incident has impacted college and university campuses nationwide in efforts to seek mentally disturbed students and help them, to have effective emergency teams, as well…

On the third anniversary of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Bureau of Investigation released this study of targeted violence incidents on U.S. campuses of higher learning. The three entities wanted to know how the prevalence of the incidents of targeted violence affect…

For healthcare agencies and other professionals to most efficiently provide aid following large scale community tragedies, agencies and professionals must understand the determinants that lead individuals to require and seek various forms of help. This study examined Andersen's Behavioral Model of Healthcare Use and its utility in predicting…