HEART Interns Describe Future As 'Bleak'

It's been a tough year for the HEART Program.

Over the summer, the program - which uses peer education and intervention to cut back on drug and alcohol abuse - lost its house in the center of campus and was transferred to apartment and office space in South Residence Hall. Vice President for Student Affairs John Saddlemire said the house was in violation of several fire codes.

Then, during winter break, the two HDFS classes that offered credit to students who interned with the program were cancelled. Saddlemire said the classes were cancelled because Janice Wilbur, the program's coordinator - who was a staff member, not a faculty member - was spending too much time teaching. He also pointed to mismanagement and improper collecting of fees as reasons to cancel the classes.

And then - in what some considered the sharpest blow - Janice Wilbur was fired from the university in February. Dean of Students Lee Williams and Director of Alcohol and Other Drug Services Tom Szigethy held an impromptu meeting to discuss Wilbur's dismissal, but would not provide details about it, because it was a personnel issue.

So what is the current status of the HEART Program?

In an e-mail response, Saddlemire seemed optimistic.

"I am sure that portions of the overall prevention and intervention efforts of the university will continue to morph and improve," he said. "This is a time of transition and opportunity. The future looks very bright."

Students provided a bleaker view.

Asked how the HEART Program is currently running after a long year of setbacks, three former interns and self-proclaimed "HEART activists" offer a sobering answer: it isn't.

"As a collective group, we're not a program anymore," said Juliana Lujan, who will be graduating with a degree in sociology next week. "I still think of myself as a HEART intern, but now I think of myself as a former HEART intern."

"It sucks," said Emily Lapidus, a graduating senior majoring in human development and family studies. "Last year I went to the HEART House every single day. I met my roommate at the HEART House."

"There is no HEART program anymore," adds Judy Castaneda, who is graduating with a master's degree in elementary education. "We've all stopped going."

The former interns say they are saddened and angered by the actions the administration has taken. And they say that after a year of fighting to keep the faltering program running, they are frustrated, tired and hopeless.

"The administration hears what they want to hear; they tiptoe around the issue," said Castaneda, who said the interns have gotten little in terms of explanation from the university, especially in regards to Wilbur's dismissal.

"I don't even know how I would want things to change," said Lujan, who plans to return to New Mexico after graduation and pursue a career in criminal justice. "I'm so over it. I just want it to be over. Even if they reinstated [the program], they could do this again."

The students suspect the university is concerned with its image and doesn't want to appear lax in terms of drinking policies. The students say Wilbur's policy, in contrast to that of Alcohol and Other Drug Services', was one of acceptance and practicality. Her philosophy was, "if students are going to drink anyway, educate them on the dangers of drinking and how to stay safe," Castaneda said.

Now, as their college careers draw to a close, the three students lament the loss of a program they agree "made them better people."

Lujan said being a HEART intern made her more outgoing, more comfortable talking and opening up and a more effective active listener.

Lapidus - who transferred from the UConn-West Hartford branch after her sophomore year - said she found a welcoming community in Storrs at the HEART Program.

"If I didn't have the HEART Program, I don't think I would have made it up here," she said.

Castaneda, who will start teaching in the fall, took a different approach.

"Think about what they took away from future students," she said, eliciting nods of agreement from Lujan and Lapidus.

Contact Brittany Dorn at Brittany.Dorn@UConn.edu.