On Sept. 6, Manhattan College announced that it has officially implemented the Campus Assessment, Resource and Education (CARE) team which replaced the Student of Concern team that previously existed on campus.

The Manhattan College student body, faculty and staff received an email from Dean Michael Carey outlining the CARE Team.

The team is comprised of Michael Carey – Assistant Vice President of Student Life, Dean of Students and Chair of the CARE Team; Andrew Weingarten – Director of Residence Life; Jennifer McArdle – Director of Counseling; Amy Dall – Director of Health Services; Anne Vaccaro – Director of Specialized Resource Center; Tiffany French – Assistant Dean of Students and Title IX Advocate. On occasion, the team will be joined by Academic Assistant Deans of all Schools and Marilyn Carter – Director of Commuter Services and Outreach.

The CARE team is to serve as a support system for students, rather than a disciplinary or judicial group. While matters that may involve the need for discipline or a judicial board may be brought to them, they get separated out and dealt with while the team focuses on supporting the student affected by the instances.

“I think the students should know that the administration is on their side, which I think sometimes students don’t feel that way,” said Carey. “The reality is we’re in this business to help students succeed and persist at college.”

The Student of Concern team had the same function but the new team is smaller, centralized and better organized. In the past, students had not been made aware of the Student of Concern team and its availability the same way the new team has via the email Carey sent. The new CARE team and set up also now offers online and anonymous referrals.

“Hopefully the reporting form can make [reaching out] more accessible for folks, so that’s really what we’re looking for there – access and ease,” said French.

Weingarten also commented on the new anonymous reporting and the need for a comfortable culture of reporting.

“I think the anonymous reporting piece is really really important and powerful and a good addition to the college,” said Weingarten. “A good college really wants to focus on having a nice culture of reporting and you want your students to feel comfortable and supported enough to go to report something that they see or hear about that may be concerning.”

The core of the CARE team meets weekly on Mondays. They also meet based on any referrals or reports that come in from students and faculty.

The members of the team frequently work together on incidents or reports that come through individual offices, but the team is established to build better communication between the offices.

The team identifies its ultimate goal as the health and safety of students

Through working to achieve this goal, the team will collaborate with many members of the faculty, and hopes that the student body will also collaborate.

“I think the more that we all work together, the more that we can support students that way they have a good experience and we keep them healthy and safe,” French said.