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Bridge to the Community
Project Proposal - Summer 1998
The University
of Central Florida's Dispute Resolution Services is offering a new service
designed to introduce mediation to the university's surrounding community.
Mediation is a voluntary process whereby two disputing parties meet with
a trained mediator, who serves as a neutral third party, to come to a resolution
that they both agree to. Over the past year, D.R.S. has been offering this
service to the on-campus UCF students, faculty, and staff.
This new "Bridge
to the Community" project will extend these services to the residents of
off-campus housing facilities. Many university students experience a great
deal of conflict as they learn to live independently. They share space
with peers that are different from themselves in race, culture, ethnicity,
and religious beliefs. They face personal conflicts involving moral standards,
drugs, personal space issues, and responsibility. Mediation can provide
these students with an opportunity to take responsibility for their actions
and a structured environment where they can learn to confront and be confronted
in a positive manner.
Through surveys
and personal visits, we will discover the extent of disputes in these housing
facilities. We will then educate the owners, supervisors, and landlords
of these facilities on the process of mediation and its benefits. They
will serve as a referral service; upon discovering various conflicts, they
will inform the students of the D.R.S. mediation program as a way to confront
and resolve their conflict. "Bridge to the Community" will not only benefit
the students, but also the owners and landlords, as they will not waste
time moving roommates around and trying to settle other's disputes. Overall,
"Bridge to the Community" will provide for a more peaceful living environment
for everyone.
Stepping Stones
Project Proposal - Fall 1998
The University
of Central Florida's Dispute Resolution Services is implementing a new
program designed to reach out to high school students and make them aware
of UCF's mediation program. The program, entitled "Stepping Stones", has
two main purposes. The first is to make future UCF students aware of DRS
as a free mediation service available to them once they enroll. The second
is to recruit future UCF students who are interested in becoming involved
as volunteer mediators at DRS. Many of these students will already have
experience in mediation through their high school peer mediation programs.
The two main
schools that DRS "Stepping Stones" will reach are in the general UCF area
- Lake Howell High School in Winter Park and Lake Mary High School in Lake
Mary. DRS will be in contact with the high school students through presentations
and visits to their high school peer mediation programs as well as arranging
visits for interested students to the UCF DRS office. DRS will also keep
in constant contact with the advisors of the peer mediation programs regarding
their progress and our developments.
"Stepping Stones"
will make the local area high school students aware that their frequently
used mediation programs are also available at the university level. First
year college students are more likely to experience conflict as they make
the difficult transition from high school to college. Therefore, being
aware of this service ahead of time will facilitate this transition and
make their first year of college more peaceful and enjoyable. |
