A program of UWindsor’s Psychological Services and Research Centre is offering free counselling to anyone suffering emotionally during the current pandemic.

The counselling, offered by graduate students under the supervision of registered psychologists on faculty, rolled out last month. It began by offering phone sessions to local hospital workers. This week, it expanded to all members of the public in Windsor and Essex County.

“People in the community are struggling with feelings of depression and anxiety during this time of social isolation, and we want to help,” said doctoral candidate Sanya Sagar, who designed the program with psychology professor Josée Jarry and other graduate students.

“If you find yourself feeling scared, irritable, sad — call us. We are so happy and privileged to be able to provide the community with this free service.”

The program will focus on concerns that can be addressed in single sessions of 90 minutes, but clients will be eligible for three additional 50-minute sessions. Those requiring further help will be referred to other services in the community.

The therapists will try to identify an immediate concern that can be improved now. It may not be the most severe concern, but one that can be addressed quickly.

The program will have a research component as well. Clients will be asked to participate in a survey before and after the intervention. Students will do the same. The data collected will become part of the research centre’s archive.

The project is funded through UWindsor’s Office of the Vice-President of Research and Innovation and the WE-Spark Health Institute, a research partnership involving the University of Windsor, Windsor Regional Hospital, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, and St. Clair College. It is one of 21 local COVID-related projects WE-Spark is supporting through its COVID-19 Rapid Response grant program.

People can access the program through the UWindsor Therapy website.

—Sarah Sacheli

A partnership between the student centre and the Alumni Association has UWindsor students feeling green.

The “Lettuce See Your Salads” project saw 50 students pick up kits of greens and vegetables from the centre on Wednesday, with a promise to share photos of the fresh dishes they will create.

“So many students were interested in the healthy free meal,” says Sandra Riccio-Muglia, the centre’s director of events and programming. “It was a nice initiative to connect with students and show the Lancer connection is still strong.”

She says participants were evenly split between domestic and international students, and she looks forward to seeing the varied creations they will prepare.

“It was great to have the alumni sponsor the packages and we worked with a local farmer to use the freshest produce,” Riccio-Muglia says. “I would like to continue this type of outreach to our students — those living in residence and those close to the campus — on a monthly basis, whether it be this same idea or another food item.”

Lancer Recreation is inviting UWindsor students, faculty, staff, and alumni to stay active together even when apart through the 2020 Recreation Movement.

The University of Windsor is the first Canadian university and 110th school overall to participate in the challenge, which offers opportunities to participate in online workout classes from different colleges and universities across the United States.

Led by NIRSA, the U.S.-based organization formerly called the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, the challenge will run through the summer with a goal to get 5 million active minutes among all participating schools.

Participating schools will showcase how they #RecAtHome during this time.

Join the Lancer effort by participating in free instructional classes on Microsoft Teams or Instagram Live. Follow Lancer Rec on social media or visit our website for the full schedule.

For more information on the 2020 Recreation Movement, check out the video:

In May, when terrorism charges were added against a suspect in the killing of Ashley Noelle Arzaga, it marked the first time in Canada they were invoked against violence by “incels,” a group that identifies as involuntary celibate — rejected sexually by women.

Windsor law professor Reem Bahdi and Fahad Ahmad, a doctoral student of public policy at Carleton University, argue that adopting anti-terrorism strategies against incel ideology may make matters worse.

“Incel violence asks us to reflect on the societal reasons behind gender-based violence and how Canada can address this as a society-wide problem. We do not need and should not want an anti-terrorism response to misogyny,” they write in an article on the subject published Tuesday in the Conversation, which shares news and views from the academic and research community.

“Some experts argue that the incel terrorism charge represents a positive development. It moves the focus of anti-terrorism away from racialized communities. It also signals that law enforcement takes misogyny seriously. These claims obscure worrying trends in counterterrorism.”

They point to instances of abuse of power by Canada’s national security agencies, insufficient oversight, and growth in their funding and power.

“Despicable incel-related violence may make us more comfortable with giving national security agencies the power to define good and bad ideologies,” the article states. “It should not.”

Read the entire piece, “Why charging incels with terrorism may make matters worse,” in the Conversation.

Looking to host a round-table-like discussion in Teams? Or need a meeting with more structure, such as a class or seminar?

Watch Information Technology Services team member Steve Karamatos demonstrate how to use the meeting options and roles (presenter vs. attendee) in Teams to adjust the format of a meeting in this 128-second Tech Talk video.

If you want more information about meeting options in Teams, click on the link in the Comments section below the video.

Tech Talk is a presentation of IT Services. More Tech Talks are available at www.uwindsor.ca/its/tech-talk.

—Ericka Greenham