Senators learned about the UF Counseling Center’s response to the March 2 shooting of Kofi Adu-Brempong when they gathered for Tuesday’s meeting.
Sherry Benton, the director of the UF Counseling Center, said the center was unable to do more for Adu-Brempong because there were eight severe, suicidal cases reported before Adu-Brempong’s.
Laura Templeton, a counselor from the UF Counseling Center’s Crisis Response Team, went with police to visit Adu-Brempong the day before the shooting, according to Alligator archives.
She said about 14 percent of students come to the counseling center for help every year.
“We really try to get out there,” Benton said. “We try to let people know about us. We try to encourage people to use us.”
After Benton’s speech, senators unanimously passed a resolution calling for the protection of academic freedom on campus in response to the UF administration’s decision to prohibit two graduate students from using their post-earthquake footage in their thesis documentary about an aid organization in Haiti.
They were not allowed to use the footage because it was shot after the university established a policy banning UF-sponsored trips to Haiti in order to protect student safety.
Unite Party Sen. Ben Meyers said students should be able to pursue any opportunity that they see fit to further their education.
Correction 4/14/10: The Alligator initially reported that no counselors from the UF Counseling Center came to the scene of the March 2 shooting of UF graduate student Kofi Adu-Brempong. According to Sherry Benton, the director of the UF Counseling Center, counselors came to Adu-Brempong's apartment 20 minutes after the shooting and stayed until 1:30 a.m. "We've been there for everything, every step of the way," Benton said. Benton said the UF Counseling Center is very accessible and counselors are always available to assist students.
