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NIU post-tragedy counselor to speak at SIUC

BY ADAM TESTA, THE SOUTHERN

Sunday, September 7, 2008 11:12 PM CDT

CARBONDALE - When Steven Kazmierczak open fired in Northern Illinois University's Cole Hall, killing five others and himself, a Southern Illinois native helped the campus recover.

Debra Pender, a three-degree graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, will share the story of her experiences during the NIU tragedy during a lecture and workshop at her alma mater later this month.

More than six months have passed since the Valentine's Day shootings, but for some, time may never heal all wounds, said Kimberly Asner-Self, associate professor and counseling programs manager at SIUC.

"It just doesn't go away," said Asner-Self, who went to NIU in March to help with debriefing. "The rest of us are off and on our way, but at Northern, things just don't go away."

Pender will speak at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in Davis Auditorium in the Wham Education Building. She will also participate in a workshop focused on preparing for and reacting to intentionally violent events the following day, Asner-Self said.

"It's targeted for the whole community," she said of the workshop. "If we have - God forbid - some incident like this at the university or in a workplace like a post office or the mall, what do we do?"

In the aftermath of the shootings, Pender was a member of the three-person counseling team aimed at working with the university community on planning for the short-term, the mid-term and the long-term, Asner-Self said. She'll convey the thought processes used in those plans during the workshop.

Deadline for the workshop is Wednesday, and as of right now, there will be a limit of 70 participants. If there is more interest, Asner-Self said a larger venue may be sought out to accommodate the group.

The lecture on Sept. 18 will represent the first in what Kenneth Teitelbaum, dean of the College of Education and Human Services at SIUC, hopes will be a once-per-semester feature.

These lectures will focus on people "talking about broad issues across not just the college but the university and even the community," he said.

adam.testa@thesouthern.com

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