When to Make a Referral
Why should I be concerned?
As the eyes and ears of our community, it is everyone’s responsibility to take action and assist those individuals who show any type of behavior that could threaten their own safety or the well-being of the College of the Desert community. We all play a vital role in ensuring the safety of our students, faculty and staff.
Reasons for Referring an Incident
You should refer individuals who are exhibiting behaviors that pose a threat or cause a significant disruption to the College of the Desert community.
Physical signs
- Falling asleep in class or other inopportune times
- A dramatic change in energy level (either direction)
- Worrisome changes in hygiene or persona appearance
- Significant changes in weight
- Frequent state of alcohol intoxication (i.e., bleary-eyed, hung-over, smelling of alcohol)
- Noticeable cuts, bruises or burns on the individual
- Concerns of substance abuse
Emotional signs
- Inappropriate emotional outbursts (unprovoked anger or hostility, sobbing)
- Agitated behaviors
- Exaggerated personally traits; more withdrawn or more animated than usual
- Expressions of hopelessness, fear of worthlessness; themes of suicide, death or dying in papers/projects
- Direct statements indicating distress, family problems, or other difficulties
- Peer concern about a fellow individual (in class, lab, club)
Academic signs
- Deterioration in quality/quantity of work
- A negative change in classroom or research performance (e.g., drop in grades)
- Missed assignments or exams
- Repeated absences from class or from research lab
- Disorganized or erratic performance
- Decline in enthusiasm in class
- Student sends lengthy, ranting, or threatening types of emails to instructor
- Continual seeking of special provisions
It’s possible that any one of these signs, in and of itself, may simply mean that an individual is having an “off” day.
