The Leinoff Family Stu Leinoff '73 and Linda Heyenoort Leinoff '74 came to campus with their nephew, Joseph Heyenoort, to visit their niece, Athena Heyenoort '05, a psychology major, and son, Mike Leinoff '04, who is majoring in political science.

The Silverman Family Susan Kesten Silverman '76 and Daniel J. Silverman '77, MD, came from Albany with Susan's mother and their children to visit their son, Eric Silverman '05. Eric looked at 12 other schools, but Binghamton was his top choice. "I met some current students, and liked the people as well as the school's academic reputation," he said. "When I got acceptances, I was most excited about this one." standing: Lenore Kesten, Ian Silverman (eighth grade), Susan, Eric and his friend, Melissa Ptak '05 seated: Julie Silverman (high school junior) and Daniel

The Glass Family Lauren Glass '05 with her parents, Brenda and Stewart Glass '70 of Westchester	The Friedman Family Jay Friedman (eighth grade) came from New Jersey with his parents, Marty Friedman '75 and Debra Dash Friedman '77, to visit his sister, Michelle Friedman '05. Michelle made her own decision about coming to Binghamton. "I visited about 10 colleges, and this was the best choice," she said.

The Peck Family Jordan Peck '05 with mother, Jean (a graduate of the University at Albany), father, Fred Peck '66, and brother, Ethan (high school freshman). Jordan, a member of the Student Association, said he was very happy he chose Binghamton for several reasons -- the campus, the residential communities, the reputation and the price. Moreover, of all the colleges he looked at, Binghamton has the strongest program in his major area of interest, physics.

The DeMartin Family Charles DeMartin '74 with his wife, Fran, and sons, Charles (high school junior) and Stephen DeMartin '05. The DeMartins live in Huntington, Long Island, "where half of Binghamton's alumni come from," joked Charles Sr.

The Forman Family Mark Forman '68 and his wife, Nancy, came from Suffern to visit their son, Jared Forman '05, and daughter, Raina. Jared lives in Delaware, and Raina stops by to say "hi" every day. "Both my dad and my sister came here; I figured it was pretty good," said Jared. "I got into the Scholars Program. I'm undecided about a major, but leaning toward computer science." Mark said he likes it that both children are going to the same school he attended – although, in many ways, the place is not the same as it was when he was a student. Mostly, "the changes are wonderful," he said. "The place has grown; it's much bigger. Some of the old traditions aren't there anymore, but I suppose there are new ones." Pictured: Mark, Jared, Nancy and family friend Lisa

The Snyder and Rutsky Families The Snyders of Smithtown, Long Island, and the Rutskys of New Hyde Park, Long Island, were brought together through the friendship of their sons, who room next door to each other in Oneida Hall. "I had a great time in Binghamton and wanted Justin to experience some of the things I did," said Gerry Rutsky '71, '73. "It's changed a lot -- more people, more buildings," he said of the campus. "But there's still a good feeling about Binghamton. I'm happy to be back." standing: Jonathan Snyder with his brother, David Snyder '05, and Justin Rutsky '05 seated: Danielle Snyder with her mother, Sue Weiss Snyder, father, Steve Snyder '77, DDS, Monica Pollin Rutsky '73 and Gerry

The Chan and Zhang Families Steve Chan and his wife, Vanessa, came to visit their daughter, Victoria Chan '05, who heard about Binghamton through her cousin, David Yung '92, and thought it sounded good. "We drove David here when he came up for the first time," said Steve. Victoria shares a room with her high school friend, Carree Zhang '05, in College-in-the-Woods. They both agree that Binghamton was the right choice for them. left to right: Steve, Vanessa, Victoria, Sophia Chan, Si Xi Zhang and Caree

Helping students cope in the aftermath of Sept. 11

The Counseling Center knows of more than 36 students so far who have lost family and friends as a result of the attacks of Sept. 11.

Many people assume that when there's a loss, people are ready for counseling right away, but that's not the first order of business for most people. . . . Students are very sensitive about their studies, and getting back some sort of control in their lives, and that's fairly normal. After students have gone home for a memorial, a lot of families have told their children, "Go back to school, there's nothing you can do here." So a lot of students are trying to concentrate, and do what they can. -- Liz Droz, director, Counseling Center

"We were in a staff meeting when we found out the World Trade Center had been attacked," said Liz Droz , director of the Counseling Center . "We watched it on TV for about two minutes, then went over to the University Union -- because we figured that's where students were gathering."

Droz and other Counseling Center staff wore University badges as they roamed the union that day. "We wanted to be a presence there, to talk, hold hands, give hugs and support. Many students were distraught; they couldn't get through to their families. So we had people posted near the phones. We took names of people students were concerned about. And staff from other offices came by to give hugs and support as well."

Droz also saw to it that the Counseling Center's website was updated by the next day with several related brochures, including Self-Help For Crisis, How To Cope With Or Help Others Cope With Traumatic Experiences and Psychological Impact Of Terrorism (courtesy Of American Psychological Association). "Visits to our website tripled and quadrupled on Sept. 11 and the next day," she said. "People were looking for information." The brochures carry information ranging from normal reactions to a crisis and strategies for coping to how nationalism can lead to bigotry.

In the following days, the Counseling Center set up a table at the union -- again, just to be a presence. "Nobody comes to a table for counseling," Droz said. "But it was really important for us to be out there so students would see our name and take note so they can come to us when they need us." In addition to brochures, people staffing the table handed out chocolate and pencils. "The ordinary things you can give people can mean a lot, and we have fun doing it," Droz said.

People called the Counseling Center with names of students they were concerned about, and Student Affairs merged this list with lists collected by Residential Life, Off Campus College and other Student Affairs offices. Then staff began calling students and families to confirm information and offer support. "The purpose of making the contact is to get information, but also to say, 'Someone will follow up with your son or daughter, or with you, to see how you're doing and if you need anything,'" Droz said. Usually someone the student knows in some way does this follow-up. "More often than not, we try to use natural liaisons," said Droz. "So if a student has a close conversation with a professor who's willing to keep in contact with him or her, then that professor can, once in a while, ask 'How are you doing?'"

For students, school is a priority

A little counseling happened in those first phone calls, said Droz, but usually, students said they needed to concentrate -- to continue functioning in some way. "So while some have come in for individual counseling already, others are saying, 'Thank you for your call,. Down the road, I will need something. I will come in at some point.' Which is appropriate," she said.

"When there is trauma, a lot of people need time to gather their resources, speak to close family members and friends, deal with the job at hand," said Droz. "Sometimes that means you go home and help your family; sometimes that means you assist with financial things. Usually, when we talk about traumatic events, the counseling piece happens in very practical ways -- advising, assisting with particular questions about classes."

Many students have been going to New York to provide support to friends and family and can't be here full time, Droz said. "Their lives are disrupted. They may need to drop courses because they can't concentrate and they want to lighten the load. We've been very careful to be supportive but not obtrusive.

"Many people assume that when there's a loss, people are ready for counseling right away but that's not the first order of business for most people," Droz continued. "People will welcome hugs, and they would like someone to know. Down the road, if people are ready, and if they still need the counseling piece, that will come in.

"But students are very sensitive about their studies, and getting back some sort of control in their lives, and that's fairly normal. After students have gone home for a memorial, a lot of families have told their children, 'Go back to school; there's nothing you can do here.' So a lot of students are trying to concentrate, and do what they can."

Students likely to need more support in the future

Flyers posted around campus, as well as the Counseling Center's website, publicize two support groups for students struggling with the Sept. 11 attacks. One is for students whose family members or friends are missing or dead. The other is for people who haven't lost loved ones, but who feel isolated, and whose ability to work and concentrate has been affected by the events.

"We're all affected in some way," said Droz, "but we're really conscious of people who may not have the support to help them."

Although many students are not ready for a support group now, they do express interest in participating in a support group someday. "A lot of students are asking, 'Am I the only one?'" said Droz. "And we say, 'No, there's a whole list of people, and we're trying to get everyone's name. Would you be interested in a support group someday?' Usually they say 'Yes -- not now, but yes.'"

"It's true of any kind of trauma, whether it's an assault of some kind, or a theft, that people will be ready for a support group with others who have gone through that in about six months or so," noted Droz. "For people who've lost close family, that will be more important."

For now, Droz and her staff are staying visible and waiting. "Many students are trying to do things in order to stay busy," she said. "For the next year, we'll keep our eyes open for students and try to find ways to let people know we're available."

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