UF’s Dean of Students Office will train students to resolve conflicts.
The trainings, which will occur Friday and Saturday, will teach students to resolve club and roommate disputes. In the past, training has only been for UF law students.
Although there has not been a rise in student conflicts, Chris Loschiavo, the associate dean of students and director of student conduct and conflict resolution at UF, said the office believes more students will have the skills to resolve their own conflicts, as well as those of others, if they receive mediation training.
“I think being trained in conflict resolution can be helpful in all aspects,” he said.
After presentations about being a mediator, students will learn conflict resolution skills and practice them through mock scenarios.
“For years we have trained approximately 30 law students every year, except for last year,” Loschiavo said. “We have found that their schedules can be challenging to work with, so we made the decision to shift our focus from law students to offer the training campus wide.”
Victoria Jobe, the president of Gators for Alternative Dispute Resolution, said mediation is very important.
The UF law student helped plan the training.
“It’s mutually beneficial for both parties to have someone from the inside to be able to help you and help train you,” the 25-year-old said.
Loschiavo said they are looking to train about 30 students. Interested students can contact the office to reserve a spot, he said.
