Security 101: Salem State and other campuses step up safety

By Dinah Cardin/salem@cnc.com
GateHouse News Service
Fri Jul 13, 2007, 12:29 PM EDT

Salem -

Paducah. Jonesboro. Columbine. They may sound like destinations toured by a small garage band, but if we reach back in memory, they are actually cities that have suffered at the hands of teenage angst combined with dangerous weapons.

The Virginia Tech massacre this past spring was a wake-up call to institutions of higher education all over the world. High schools may have their metal detectors and movies starring Michelle Pfeiffer about tough street kids and their violent behavior, but colleges have so far been wide open to strangers and incident.

As Shane Rodriguez, deputy director of the Salem State College Police Department, says, when Seung Hui Cho fatally shot 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech, he created "our 9-11."

Last July, campus police placed an officer on the task of emergency preparedness. But Virginia Tech put the wheels into rapid motion.

"When people send their sons and daughters to college, the last thing they expect is that they will be gunned down in a classroom or residence hall," says Rodriguez.

That's why on June 29, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett convened the first annual Essex County College Summit, linking campus security departments with the state police and the FBI.

Officers from Salem State, Northern Essex Community, Endicott, Marion Court and Gordon colleges discussed their various security measures and listened to Col. Mark Delaney from the state police outline a training program for dealing specifically with school shooters.

One of the most unique questions posed to Delaney was whether students should be locked in or out during a hostile shooter situation. His answer? Less moving parts means less confusion for law enforcement. Lock the doors, get away from the windows and wait for the "cavalry."

The cavalry could be any number of local, state and federal law enforcement officers. But getting them on campus can take a while. That's why it comes down to campus police to initially act in a situation.

The FBI terrorism division told the officers to develop a plan and then stick with it, practice it and learn from it. Without being too invasive in students' lives.

Part of this, says Rodriguez, involves reaching out to police departments in Swampscott and other surrounding towns, including them in the plan to call in every available law enforcement officer.

Officers from Salem State College will participate in the state police's active shooter program later this month, along with officers from the Salem Police Department. The state-funded program involves donning swat team equipment and simulating locking down a school to reach the ultimate goal of eliminating the violent threat and saving lives. The only cost to police departments is for the paint balls they will be shooting out of their weapons.

<b>Being prepared</b>

Across the North Shore, college officials are working to tighten security in time for the fall semester.

Of them all, Salem State is probably at the highest risk for a violent attack since the city is difficult to get in and out of, the college encompasses four separate campuses and two new residence halls are being built. It&#39;s not only the largest in the area and constantly growing, Salem State is a big commuter school and is soon going to university status. Needless to say, there is a lot going on.

All of this poses a big challenge for safety. Arming officers at Salem State is simply a necessity to protect the students and staff, says the chief of campus police. They started carrying patrol pistols a couple of years ago.

"We finally came to the conclusion it was time," says Salem State chief of police Bill Anglin. "We&#39;re our own little city now."

Schools are also looking to use technology to keep students away from campus in case of such an emergency. For two years, the state is funding a text messaging system on all state college campuses that will alert students of emergencies as well as snow days.

During registration, the college will be collecting cell phone numbers from students. It&#39;s been proven, says Robert Paterson, chief information officer at Salem State, that you only need 65 to 70 percent of student phone numbers for the system to work.

There are enough students hanging out together that the word gets around.

"The big thing that we learned from Virginia Tech is you need to have multiple channels of communication to the community," says Paterson.

The lesson of overloaded communication channels has been learned on 9-11 and during Hurricane Katrina. Even on Thanksgiving, phone lines get jammed. The school is still working out the final cost when the two-year state funded initiative runs out.

Salem State is the only college in Essex County with armed officers. But that could soon change.

"We&#39;re moving closer in that direction," says John Soucy, environmental, health and safety officer at Gordon College.

This might come as a surprise for a religious institution.

"We like to think the Lord is protecting us," says Soucy.

Still, he says, public safety is service oriented and having firearms makes you a better servant.

"It&#39;s better than standing and watching it happen," he says.

<b>&#39;No warnings&#39;</b>

At last week&#39;s summit, Julia Cowley of the FBI&#39;s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime told the assembled that there are three major categories of violent youth — the mentally ill, the antisocial and the "normal."

They have often engaged in behavior that has caused concern for others. In a study of 41 offenders from 37 schools, the findings showed that the violent youth almost always felt bullied.

Kip Kinkel, from Cowley&#39;s home state of Oregon, said over and over that he had "no choice" when he killed his parents and then shot students. Beware, said Cowley, of the "injustice collector."

But school shootings can also result from the angry ex-husband of a faculty member, she reminded the group.

In a slide presentation, she showed disturbing drawings done by the offenders. They were often dark and violent, showing the classic violent youth characteristics of narcissism and lack of empathy.

They often tell no one beforehand if they are serious about doing the act and may plan it forever.

"Eric and Dylan planned their attack for nearly a year and there were no warnings," she said of the Columbine shooters, speaking almost intimately about those in her area of expertise.

Matt Gallagher of the FBI&#39;s Victim Assistance Program is someone school officials don&#39;t want to get to know. His office assisted Virginia Tech after the shootings. Gallagher spoke of the mistakes made there, like when faculty members were counseling one another.

This summer, Salem State is refining their plan, talking about resources and grants. Rodriguez is putting in long hours during a relatively quiet time for a college campus. His enthusiasm for the topic of preparing for a school shooting seemingly has no bounds.

"We don&#39;t want to be caught off guard," he says. "We want to be as prepared as possible. Virginia Tech forced us to take a real hard look at it. We&#39;re diligent now."

--

Original Source: Boston, MA - Town Online
<a href="http://www.townonline.com/homepage/x117549697">http://www.townonline.com/homepage/x117549697</a>

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0</a>.

Dinah Cardin

2007-07-17

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0

eng

Business as usual at high school after Virginia Tech shootings

By Ryan Bray
GateHouse Media
Thu May 03, 2007, 02:22 PM EDT

Scituate - In the two weeks since the Virginia Tech shootings swept through the college town of Blacksburg, Va., people nationwide are still struggling to grasp and adjust to the tragic events that left 33 students and faculty members at the school dead.

But miles an miles away from all the mourning and controversy, it&#39;s business as usual at Scituate High School, as students and faculty members go about their daily routines. Students rush about the halls while seniors, many of whom are in the process of hearing back from colleges and making their plans for the fall, count down the remaining days of their high school careers.

"It hasn&#39;t impacted them at all," said Sherri Lewis, director of guidance at the high school, regarding the impact of the shooting on outgoing students. "They all seem very excited."

But while students have carried on with things as they otherwise would, that&#39;s not to say that the Virginia Tech shootings haven&#39;t had some effect on the school, however slight. Principal Donna Nuzzo-Mueller said the shootings are of greater concern to teachers than to students, whom have come to learn of the tragedies from a distance through television and the news.

"I think our educators dwell on this more than the young people do," Nuzzo-Mueller said. "Developmentally at their age, I think it&#39;s difficult to grasp the severity of it all at that stage of their lives."

However, students are reacting in their own ways. Nuzzo-Mueller said several school groups and clubs have rallied to raise money for a fund established for the families of the shooting victims. Others, she said, have likely dealt with the tragedy outside the school with friends and family.

"We certainly have kids who want to reach out and help, and that&#39;s natural," she said.

The shootings almost immediately brought attention to the issue of how to better prepare and respond in the event of a similar emergency in the future. Administrators and campus police officials came under fire from parents and the media in the days following the event for what some saw as an inadequate response to the shootings, while locally, Gov. Deval Patrick met with administrators from public colleges and universities across the state to discuss how to best safeguard students in the event of another shooting.

But Nuzzo-Mueller said at the high school, there isn&#39;t much the school can likely do to prepare for a similar attack beyond the school&#39;s current emergency evacuation plan. She said incidents of the scale and magnitude of Virginia Tech or Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., could never be fully prepared for in spite of the best efforts from faculty and administrators.

"It all just shows that it could happen to anybody," Nuzzo-Mueller said. "It&#39;s a problem that just exists. There&#39;s always a slice of humanity that struggles with this issue. No matter what plan are put in place, you&#39;d likely have to adapt to the situation should one arise."

Superintendent of Schools Mark Mason said he would meet with security advisers next week to discuss the potential for increased security within the district&#39;s six schools. But while student safety is always top priority, Mason said a balance must be struck between what&#39;s too much and not enough.

"It&#39;s a philosophical question," he said. "We want to keep our schools safe, but do we want to keep the kids in lockdown mode throughout the year?"

Nuzzo-Mueller said she is uncertain if any outgoing seniors will be attending Virginia Tech in the fall. She said that while graduates have gone on to attend the school in the past, it is not common from year to year.

--

Original Source: Scituate Mariner
<a href="http://www.townonline.com/scituate/education/x1592158543">http://www.townonline.com/scituate/education/x1592158543</a>

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0</a>.

Ryan Bray

2007-07-17

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0

eng

Scare response scrutinized

<i>Community members criticize level of communication during Wednesday&#39;s incident</i>

By Edward Truong
Friday, May 18, 2007

Some students and staff expressed concern that the university did not communicate quickly enough with the community following Wednesday&#39;s weapon scare in Westwood.

But officials said the community was not in danger and so they focused on controlling rumors.

L.A. police shut down several blocks in the North Village in response to reports of an armed individual in the area Wednesday afternoon. In the investigation, police found a crossbow rather than a gun, and university officials did not take any formal action on campus.

Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services for UCPD, said it was a "self-contained potential incident. ... The police (had) it under control."

"There appeared to be no risk to campus or population," she said.

But some believe the university should have informed students and staff about the incident sooner.

Ruth Tesfamichael, a second-year English student, said she had no real information about what was going on, except she heard rumors from another student that there was a gunman in the area.

"Word of mouth spread really quickly," she said. "Everyone was misinformed."

She said she hoped the university would have found a way to reach students.

"I expected an e-mail (from the university), but didn&#39;t get anything," she said.

Nancy Chakravarty, director of admissions for Corinne A. Seeds University Elementary School, said she was especially concerned about the lack of communication because parents were calling in to the school with questions and she was able to offer no response.

"We had no idea that anything was going on," Chakravarty said. "One of our teachers came up and asked what ... the helicopters (flying around the area) were for."

She said her staff was entirely unaware of the situation until concerned parents started contacting the office.

"Parents had called and said there had been a shooting on campus."

Lawrence Lokman, assistant vice chancellor of University Communications, called the incident a "rumor-control" issue for the university.

He said media relations officials spent Wednesday contacting City News Service and other media outlets to correct reports, such as KCBS&#39;s report of a "UCLA Gunman" which was later removed.

"We all realize we&#39;re in a fast media environment," he said. "These kinds of things always drive home (a) level of angst. ... (It&#39;s) important not to add to the angst."

Greenstein said e-mails were later sent out to various mailing lists or list-servs that went to building coordinators and residence halls.

"The e-mail that people are talking about was addressing the rumor control," she said, referring to the list-serv notice at around 4 p.m., after the incident was over.

E-mails were not sent out to the entire UCLA community.

"One thing (we) want to avoid is over-noticing people. Focus groups (formed after the Virginia Tech shooting) have said if they get too much information or bulletins, they stop looking at them," Greenstein said. "When it&#39;s really important, we&#39;re going to tell you."

Chakravarty contacted UCPD and was told there was no shooting and the students were not in danger.

There are 435 students who attend the on-campus elementary school, which is the laboratory school of the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, according to the school&#39;s Web site.

The school day ends at 2:40 p.m. and students wait to be picked up in the carpool area at 2:45 p.m. The incident was first reported at around 1:30 p.m., according to witnesses, and police re-opened the streets by 3:20 p.m.

She said it was good that officials tried to lower people&#39;s anxiety, but believes she should have been notified immediately, even if her school was not at risk.

"(It&#39;s) important that we be informed so that we can take action if we need to, and we can allay the fears of the parents," she said. "Parents hear things, they get worried, they call us and they expect us to know."

Since the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16, university campuses nationwide have been sensitive to campus safety issues.

Greenstein said Wednesday&#39;s incident was not an issue of public safety and was not similar to the events at Virginia Tech.

But she added that emergency protocols would have been enacted had the situation been similar to the Virginia Tech shooting.

"(They are) totally not comparable situations," she said.

Lokman said there are trained officials and processes in place if there had been a more serious incident.

He said that depending on the situation, university administrators could choose to use one or more different means of mass communication for safety purposes, such as loudspeakers on police cars, and the campus television station on channel 3 and the emergency radio station, 1630 AM.

He said there is also technology in place, created before the Virginia Tech shooting, that would allow the university to instant message the community and override Web sites such as the UCLA home page and MyUCLA.

"That is technology we&#39;re evaluating to add to our mix of options," he said.

Gabe Rose, Undergraduate Students Association Council president-elect, said university administrators should consider alternative methods of communication.

He said since students do not constantly check their e-mails, "(it&#39;s) important to look for other ways to distribute the message. ... E-mail is not effective."

Instead, Rose said student leaders and university officials should rethink the current policies to come up with different ways to reach students in case of emergencies, such as a text-message system.

"It&#39;s important to not get caught up in the status quo, but to be creative and think harder," he said, adding that students should express their concerns and share ideas with student government leaders on how to make the campus safer.

"If you don&#39;t feel safe on campus, that&#39;s a huge problem," he said.

Greenstein said it is important to distinguish between rumors and official university notices but said the incident on Wednesday was relatively minor.

"(There were) very few people who had issues. ... Many people saw it for what it was worth," Greenstein said.

--

Original Source:<a href=http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/may/18/scare_response_scrutinized/>The Daily Bruin - May 18, 2007</a>

Edward Truong

2007-07-13

Sara Hood

Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>

eng

C.U. Officials Discuss Response to Va. Tech

By Ben Eisen
Sun Staff Writer
Apr 25 2007

"Half of college students report having felt extremely depressed," said Ray Kim, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to a crowd of students in Goldwin Smith&#39;s Hollis E. Cornell auditorium yesterday afternoon. "60 percent of students report feeling absolutely hopeless at times. 10 percent of students reported seriously considering suicide. How many people knew it was this bad?"

No one raised their hands.

Kim was one of four speakers on a panel yesterday afternoon to speak about the Virginia Tech tragedy and Cornell&#39;s level of preparedness for such emergencies. Hosted by Omega Phi Beta Sorority and Lambda Phi Epsilon, the goal of the discussion was to bring the past week&#39;s events home to our campus.

Other speakers included George Sutfin, head of crime prevention at Cornell Police, Chief Curtis Ostrander who has worked for CUPD since before the 1983 shooting at Cornell, and Dr. Ya-Shu Liang, who works for Counseling and Psychological Services.

"Every time something happens [response and prevention] plans are reevaluated," Sutfin said.

"Columbine got everyone reevaluating response," added Ostrander. "New training was developed. I was one of the first officers who received training."

Sutfin told the audience that Cornell is now in the process of making a contract with a company that alerts everyone on campus of emergencies by text message.

"If something happens at an elementary school, it&#39;s easy to shut down, but Cornell is a small city, and it&#39;s very hard to shut down the entire campus. Studies show that 90 percent of students have cell phones, so [the new plan will] send texts to everyone in a circumference."

Though the officers were unable not comment on their current response plans to the specific type of emergency that happened at Virginia Tech, Sutfin said that CUPD senior staff sat in on meetings to discuss changes to the plans while the panel was going on.

He added that a lot of prevention rests in the hands of students. According to Sutfin, many students let unknown people into their dormitories, putting everyone at risk. He cited an incident when, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, he was able to get into a dorm, go into an unlocked room and "steal" a computer, without ever being asked who he was.

Kim said that there is added pressure in a university setting, which often drives people to need help. He said that University policy forbids the administration from telling parents when their students show signs of problems unless the student provides consent, and Gannett and Cayuga Medical cannot tell the administration when students need help. This means that a lot of responsibility for reaching out to those in trouble rests in the hands of students.

Liu spoke about the infrastructure that Gannett has implemented to help at-risk students through CAPS.

"If students are in danger to themselves or others, we may break confidentiality," Liu said. "If someone called the hotline and said that they were going to kill people, we would force them into the hospital."

She added that students have also used CAPS to help them cope with the Virginia Tech tragedy.

This panel was the only community forum organized by students, according to Antonia de Jesus &#39;09 of Omega Phi Beta, who helped arrange the event.

"I got a call from my mother crying the day it happened," said de Jesus. "She had seen the pictures of all students. I looked it up on the internet, and I thought that something had to be done, so we put it all together."

Tiffany Brutus &#39;07, president of Omega Phi Beta, was concerned because Cornell students had not done more in response to the tragedy.

"It&#39;s a big reflection on our generation. People care about it in the now, but not a couple days later. If you don&#39;t go to Virginia Tech, people forget about it."

--

Original Source: <a href=http://cornellsun.com/node/23152> Cornell Daily Sun - April 25, 2007</a>

Ben Eisen

2007-07-10

Sara Hood

Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>

eng

Message on Safety and Security

<i>(This message was distributed to all faculty, staff and students April 27, 2007.)</i>

In the days following the Virginia Tech tragedy, our solidarity with and sympathy for the faculty, staff, students and families affected by the loss of lives on April 16, 2007 remains front and centre in our minds.

Openness and access are features that define us as a university, and we cherish those attributes greatly. At the same time we are conscious that these features make us vulnerable to the behaviour of troubled or violent people. Our overall approach to providing a safe environment is therefore guided by the desire to maintain and nurture openness while doing all we can to prepare for, prevent, and respond to crisis situations.

The events of Friday April 20 were a good test of our overall philosophy and systems with respect to both safety and security. Shortly before 5 pm, a report was received of a male with a rifle in the vicinity of the bowl. Saskatoon Police Services (SPS) and Campus Safety responded, conducted a sweep of buildings in the vicinity, and declared the incident over at 7 pm. The next day SPS concluded, based on the report of another eyewitness, that the rifle was actually a bike seat and post and declared the incident a false alarm. This incident demonstrated strengths in our systems, including effective coordination with SPS. It also highlighted some areas for improvement, including our ability to communicate with the entire campus when necessary.

There are many dimensions to our approach to safety. Our department of Campus Safety maintains a 24-hour watch over the campus, with a team of security staff on duty and a video-surveillance system. The U of S works closely and cooperatively with Saskatoon&#39;s emergency service organizations, engaging in joint training initiatives. There are a number of additional safety measures in place including safety alert notices, the Safewalk program, campus emergency phones, and counseling and health services for staff and students and their families.

We encourage all members of our campus community to always be alert of potentially unsafe situations, suspicious persons or activities, and report anything unusual without hesitation to 966-5555 immediately, at any time of the day or night.

Shortly after the Virginia tragedy, Vice-President Richard Florizone launched an assessment of the University&#39;s safety practices, with recommendations to be developed before the new academic year. The University continually reviews and renews its overall safety measures; however, this specific assessment seeks to ensure that our approach is based on best practices and incorporates the lessons learned in recent events.

The personal safety and security of our campus community is of the greatest importance, and in this regard, we welcome any and all suggestions. Please forward any comments you have to <a href="richard.florizone@usask.ca">richard.florizone@usask.ca</a>.

Peter MacKinnon,
President, University of Saskatchewan

Richard Florizone
VP Finance and Resources, University of Saskatchewan

(Posted on April 27, 2007)

--

Original Source: <a href="http://blogs.usask.ca/studentnews/archive/2007/04/message_on_safe.html">http://blogs.usask.ca/studentnews/archive/2007/04/message_on_safe.html</a>

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution 2.5</a>.

Peter MacKinnon and Richard Florizone

2007-06-09

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution 2.5

eng

Officers waiting for the President

Several police officers (both local and state) are visible and present during the convocation.

Original source: <a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464088526/"> http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464088526/</a>

Licensed under <a href=" http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0</a>

Nathan Dicken

2007-05-30

Chad Newswander

Permission
Nathan Dicken
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464088526/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0

eng

Presidential Protection

Police presence surrounds the campus for both security purposes and the visit of President Bush.

Original source: <a href=" http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464086824/in/set-72157600089911912/"> http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464086824/in/set-72157600089911912/</a>

Licensed under <a href=" http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0</a>

Nathan Dicken

2007-05-30

Chad Newswander

Permission:
Nathan Dicken
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndicken/464086824/in/set-72157600089911912/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 2.0

eng

Officials examine ways to make school safer

By Joe Cressman
Elmhurst Press
Tue Apr 24, 2007, 04:35 PM CDT

ELMHURST, IL - The April 16 tragedy at Virginia Tech has Elmhurst College officials looking at ways they can make their own campus more secure.

One of those ways is to teach the community how to respond to danger signs among students, said Tony Leggett, director of campus security.

"We&#39;ve done a number of things," he said. "We sent out a letter to give students some of the warning signs, how to report if someone on campus they know (is) emotionally distressed."

He also has been in contact with the Elmhurst Police Department. Sometime this summer, police will rehearse practice responses to an on-campus shooter, Leggett said.

Charley Henderson, director of public relations, said the Virginia Tech massacre has everyone thinking about how safety measures can be improved.

"This campus is essentially safe, but you never say never," he said.

Original Source: <a href="http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/elmhurst/news/x1910945457">http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/elmhurst/news/x1910945457</a>

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5</a>.

Brent Jesiek

2007-05-19

Brent Jesiek

eng

[Untitled]

There are times when the three hour time difference between the East and West coasts is significant in ways one could never imagine. On April 16, this time difference meant that when I arrived at work at 8:00 am the events at Virginia Tech had already occurred, although it would be some hours until a more complete picture about the magnitude of the tragedy became clear. In the days since I have again felt myself to be part of that unique family that is Hokie nation. I have been in contact with roommates, friends, and teachers that I had not spoken with in years. And I have thought a great deal about the meaning and implications of the shootings.

In many ways, this is just part of my normal activities. I work for a research center that examines how forces of global change are transforming security threats that confront states and their citizens. I often spend much of my day thinking about threats and vulnerabilities from terrorism, crime, and infectious disease. But the events of April 16 have presented me with a challenge as I consider the events not only from a security studies perspective, but also as someone who lived in Blacksburg for five years and earned two degrees from Virginia Tech.

A few years ago, the center I work for conducted a project on school safety and emergency preparedness. One of the lessons I came away from the project with was an understanding that school shootings occur in places that seem unlikely, most often suburban and rural areas. In this way, Virginia Tech is like many of the other campuses - California State University at Fullerton, the University of Iowa, San Diego State University, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Virginia Appalachian School of Law, the University of Arizona Nursing College, and West Virginia Shepherd University�that have been victims of shooting incidents. None of these schools are located in areas that spring to mind as particularly dangerous or crime ridden.

Another lesson I came away from our project with is the understanding that school shootings are like many other forms of modern crisis in that they are often over before first responders arrive. In such instances, the real first responders to incidents are whoever happens to be at the location of an incident. The stories that have emerged about April 16 show a remarkable amount of heroism and selflessness. When faced with an unexpected danger, teachers and students responded, often with very little time to consider their situation, to help others and try and reduce the danger they faced.

In the aftermath of the events of April 16, 2007, many people have been trying to make sense of what occurred and asking about the lessons that can be learned from the events. One lesson that seems clear is that geography is no real protection from these sorts of tragedies. As someone who studies security threats, I can see that the events at Virginia Tech make it clearer that on the changing security landscape on which we now find ourselves, people and organizations at all levels of society must ask what they can do to prevent and prepare for events like these. But as someone who spent an important and formative part of my life at Virginia Tech, I am deeply saddened that Virginia Tech will now be among the events we discuss, and that many people&#39;s memories of Blacksburg will be of the scenes of tragedy they saw unfold on April 16.

Bryan McDonald
B.A. English (1997)
M.A. Political Science (1999)

Bryan McDonald

2007-05-02

Bryan McDonald

eng