The American Investigative Society of Cold Cases (AISOCC) is a non-profit, volunteer based organization of professional investigators whose sole mission is to, “actively assist law enforcement, criminal justice and legal professionals in the development of cold case investigations.” They have an elite group of experts that use tools such as crime scene reconstruction, crime scene assessments, and inductive/deductive criminal profiling to solve these crimes. Recently, it has popped up at Chatham.

Dr. Christine Sarteschi, assistant professor of social work and criminology at Chatham, serves as the faculty advisor for the Chatham chapter of AISOCC. She is also a Consulting Committee member of The American Investigative Society of Cold Cases itself.

Before assembling the group, Sarteschi initially surveyed students to determine their interest in developing a chapter on campus. The interested students then developed a constitution and applied to become an official student organization. After being assigned their first case, Sarteschi then contacted the sergeant working on the case, who was happy for the help. The group currently has 19 students and interested students can apply at two points in the academic year — at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.

Hannah Gross, the chapter president at Chatham, said the AISOCC is important because, “there are approximately 211,000 unsolved homicide cases in the United States. Many police departments might not have dedicated cold case units or units large enough to cover the immense volume of cold case materials that are still waiting to be reviewed. We wish to assist police agencies and families with solving these cases.”

She says that it is beneficial for outsider’s to help because they, “assist police agencies in reviewing case files, essentially serving as a ‘fresh set of eyes’ hoping to uncover anything that may have been overlooked. We search for new leads, discuss any interesting details, develop a social media presence to bring awareness to the case and otherwise do whatever the case requires of us. We can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.”

Currently, the Chatham chapter are working on the unsolved murder case of 18-year old Wendy Welborn who was killed in 1980 in Tennessee. Wendy’s mother contacted the president of AISOCC asking for assistance in solving her case and the president assigned the case to the group at Chatham, who have been working on it since October of 2015.

Students are encouraged to join the group next fall, and help the team make an impact on the lives of many. Gross says it is a powerful opportunity, “to gain experience in solving a real unsolved case. It is a great way to develop one’s writing and analytical skills. The work is tedious but rewarding. Your efforts might actually lead to solving an unsolved homicide case. You have a chance to truly make a difference in someone’s life. We welcome new members, but they must be serious about the work. We are dealing with real people and real cases. There are many leadership roles within the group as well. Students have the opportunity to specialize on a certain portion of the case and lead others in exploring specific categories. This organization also gets students directly involved with the workings of the criminal justice system. For some, this could open potential doors to future jobs or interests.”

To contact the organization, students can email Dr. Sarteschi at CSarteschi@Chatham.edu, or Hannah Gross at HGross@Chatham.edu.

Sex. According to network television and cheesy after school specials: everybody’s doing it. There may be some debate and some truth about that. The CDC has estimated that individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 make up over one quarter of sexually active people. However, the 15 to 24-year-old sexually active crowd also makes up for half of the reported sexually transmitted diseases.  So the question is, does everyone who may become sexually active know how to do it safely?

With only twenty-two states that require sex education to be taught in schools, the answer depends on where you live and what your parents believe in. For this reason, many universities and colleges have taken it upon themselves to incorporate information on sexual health into their orientation.

What’s Chatham’s approach?

At Chatham University you can get a lot of things from Student Health Services: bandages, a flu shot, and even resources for sexual health. They go further than simply passing out pamphlets and condoms. For the past few semesters, in an attempt to dispel the myths and get people talking, Student Health Services has been hosting workshops to educate students on sexual health. In the Valentine’s Day season, Health Services intern Renee Pacella ventured to the Carriage House with pamphlets, prizes, and sexual health jeopardy.

“It’s supposed to be an interactive and unintimidating conversation about sexual health, awareness, consent, and being aware of what’s available to you,” said Pacella. “So at health services we actually aren’t allowed to treat anything.” They are however allowed to offer over the counter medicines.

What are frequently asked questions?

“We get a lot of questions about birth control. People just don’t know what’s out there and how to get it, so we just provide what we can as far as information and resources,” she said.

Why?

“I feel like nowadays there is more in regards to conversations about sexual health and more sex education. But, if someone’s coming from a more sheltered home or a more religious background where they’re not allowed to talk about it and then they step into an environment where they have all this freedom, then they don’t really know what to do to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. Or prevent spreading diseases.”

Health Services provides referrals, consultations, and answers to those questions.

“We want to pass on knowledge to students whether they received it in high school or not,” she explained.

To this end, Student Health Services took a somewhat unconventional approach to educating students at the Valentine’s Day sex workshop, opting to play Sexual Health Jeopardy.

“The jeopardy game primarily serves as a means to open the discussion and get more students involved and talking,” Pacella said.

“No one wants to talk about sex with someone in their sixties,” Pacella said with a laugh, “So we try to get the students talking with each other. We just present the facts like, if you do this you’re gonna get pregnant. Or if you don’t do this, you’ll end up with an STD. We’re just promoting safety and knowing who to talk to.”

Acknowledging that there are people who object to sex education because they feel it encourages young people to become sexually active, Pacella responded, “When people do that, it’s never going to prevent people from having sex. You’re not going to be there when two consenting adults, hopefully over the age of eighteen, are having sex. It’s just not gonna happen. You can say as much as you want or preach as much as you want; that’s their decision. If you don’t teach kids what’s going on, they’re just going to do harm to their bodies and make preventable mistakes.”

Student Health Services is located outside of Woodland Hall next to the bookstore.