Conflict Management Training Re-Invented Part I

It’s finals day. 

Max has been waiting all semester for this last day, as he is planning on an epic summer break. 

As any college student can attest, those mornings are hectic. This one is no different. Max was running late for class so he foolishly decided to park in a handicap parking space. Just as he exited his car, a campus parking enforcement officer approached him. Without hesitation or conversation, she began writing Max a parking citation for illegally parking in a handicap space with no permit.

Max was not happy. In fact, he was furious. He had a brief exchange with the officer that resulted in Max walking away with a citation, but heading to his finals late and upset.  As Max entered the classroom, the professor was sitting 20 feet away from the door and did not say anything to Max. He merely pointed back at the door signifying that Max could not enter and that he would have to miss his final because he was late.

Max was distraught, confused and now even more upset. Not knowing what to do or where to go, Max decided to walk through campus to meet up with his girlfriend in her residence hall. Upon entering the hall, the front desk person asks for his identification to log the record of a guest. Max did not have his ID on him. He tried to reason with the person to let him see his girlfriend, but it was not happening and the person did not want to hear any excuse.

As Max was engaged in a heated argument with the front desk person, he noticed his girlfriend coming into the lobby with another man. Both dressed for class with their backpacks on, they were obviously heading to class to take their final, but Max did not see it that way. He immediately assumed the worst and physically shoved and attacked the man. A short scuffle ensued and within moments, the campus police arrived to stabilize the situation.

Max was so furious and out of his mind at that time that he did not realize it was the campus police trying to break up the fight. Max turned and started fighting with the police! They immediately responded with proper force by deploying their OC spray. Max was handcuffed and taken to the campus jail for processing.

Sound familiar? This exact scenario can happen on any given day on a college campus.  The amount of progressive conflict in the above scenario proves that with a little empathy, Trauma Responsiveness, and proper training, this entire scenario could have been avoided.

What if there was a way to build more respectful and safer environments of care by addressing the entire spectrum of human conflict? 

There is.

Vistelar has re-invented the way college campuses and universities should look at conflict management training. It’s no longer a reactive response specifically for campus public safety. It’s an approach that involves the entire community and allows for better understanding, more confidence and better preparedness when interacting with students, staff and visitors. 

Vistelar’s focus on their exclusive “non-escalation” methods validates the need for the entire campus community to be on the same page while focusing on the emotional and physical safety of their students, staff and visitors.

For many years, there has been little to no success in developing a unified conflict management training system for the entire campus community. More often, each division or department will contract with training vendors to fit their specific conflict management needs, resulting in inconsistent practices, messaging, and varying levels of effectiveness.

This has changed, thanks to Vistelar’s proprietary Unified Conflict Management Training System.

Vistelar has the unique, and industry-disrupting ability, to work closely with its partners to customize a conflict management training program that fits the goals of the entire campus community. Whether it be parking enforcement, customer service, student services, healthcare or public safety, Vistelar has extensive experience in collaborating with each department to provide a program that transfers consistently, and without barriers, across the campus.

There are many training topics that can be addressed from the scenario above, including but not limited to:

• How to use empathy to reduce conflict
• Treating people with dignity by showing respect
• How Trauma Responsiveness can help you better understand and anticipate the struggles of others
• How to remain calm in chaos 

In part II of this article, Vistelar will discuss four of the twelve methods from their Non-escalation/De-escalation/Crisis Management program that directly relates to this scenario. If you’d like an advanced copy of the article, please contact William Singleton directly, at [email protected] or 414.507.6762.