Cheney Mason / Winonan

Winona State University’s Behavioral Analysis Intervention Team (BAIT), established in 2007, provides faculty and staff help with troubled students on campus.

The team includes dean of students Karen Johnson works on the team, the current director of counseling, director of student conduct and citizenship, director of health and wellness services, director of security and director of housing and residence life.

Johnson said former Winona State Vice President Connie Gores developed BAIT, and it has since expanded to the Rochester campus in 2010.

“It is a team at WSU who really cares about students,” Johnson said. “The whole reason we meet weekly is to support students, help them by doing whatever we can so they can be successful, academically and personally.”

Johnson said the essence of BAIT is to promote the welfare and academic success of students at Winona State by utilizing professionals.

“On the team there are all professional staff members and everything is highly confidential that we talk about,” Johnson said. “The basic idea is that we need to work with students who are concerning to us.”

Johnson also explained how the team was put in place at Winona State and other universities in 2007 following the Virgina Tech shooting.

“We want to work with students to avoid a student getting to that place where they are upset with people so they resort to violence,” Johnson said.

The BAIT at Winona State, compared to other schools in the nation as Johnson explained, is more like a care group for students. Johnson elaborated on how the goal of the team is not necessarily focused on isolated events but rather how to care for students as a form of prevention.

“We’re not as worried about campus violence as a student not doing well,” Johnson said. “I think it has been successful.”

Referrals from faculty and staff throughout campus are common and the team does a follow-up on each student of concern to determine the best way to help them, Johnson elaborated.

“We believe that the more interactions and connections that students have, the more likely they are to stay and graduate,”  Johnson said.

Although the main goal is to establish connections, the team itself has flown a bit under the radar to students who have not had to utilize its sources.

Junior Eric Burchfield had never heard of this resource before.

“I don’t know what it is. I have never heard of it. I knew we had things to help students, but this seems like a good thing to have,” Burchfield said.

Despite the lack of knowledge about the team, Johnson said the goal of the team is for the safety and wellbeing of students.

“If any student would like to get ahold of me, I am always willing to give answers about what we are about,” Johnson said. “Everything else is confidential.”