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Sara Hood
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ELI DILE
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2007-08-19
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By: ELI DILE
Staff Writer
Posted: 5/22/07
The Virginia Tech massacre in late April was a shocking reminder of the importance of campus safety.
Pitt, which spends more than $9 million annually on security measures, has many organizations and programs that promote safety on campus.
First and foremost, the Pitt police department safeguards the lives of students every day and represents the third largest police force in Allegheny County. In addition to officers on foot, bicycle or motorcycle, the department includes 74 commissioned police officers and has a minimum of four cars patrolling Oakland's streets during each shift.
There are four Pitt police stations on campus. They are located at Sutherland Hall, Sennott Square and two locations on Forbes Avenue, one between the Barco Law Building and David Lawrence Hall. The other is the new Public Safety Building located at 3412 Forbes Ave.
Students can report crimes by calling the Pitt police at (412) 624-2121 or by dialing 4-2121 on a campus phone, going to one of the stations or by using the anonymous tips portion of the Pitt police's website at www.pitt.edu/~police. More than 500 emergency phones, which students can use to contact Pitt police in case of an emergency, are located across campus. Exterior and garage phones are easily identifiable by their blue lights.
In addition, nearly 300 surveillance cameras are spread throughout the campus and are monitored 24 hours a day.
The University also maintains many other safety measures beside the University police. In the event of a campus-wide emergency, the communications center at the Public Safety Building is equipped to lock down 80 percent of Pitt's buildings. Also, the University can send emergency e-mails to students, faculty and staff and make emergency announcements over the public address systems in campus buildings.
Pitt's Office of Sexual Assault Services provides counseling and medical services for anyone who has been sexually harassed or abused. Students can reach OSAS at (412) 648-7930.
Each term the University offers a one-credit personal-defense course, which teaches students to defend themselves and escape from an attacker.
Security guards control access to all residence halls. Students must present their student IDs, which are then swiped through an electronic system by the guards, to gain access to their residence halls. Guests wishing to enter a residence hall must first have a student who lives there sign them in. Guests must also be signed out or the resident may face a fine.
Each residence hall has a resident assistant on every floor. Their duties include supervising fire evacuations, resolving roommate disputes, and handling vandalism, disorderly conduct, medical and psychological emergencies. RAs are on duty every evening, including weekends and holidays. Each residence hall has a resident director to supervise the RAs.
In all residence halls, dorm-room doors can only be opened with either a key or the occupant's student ID followed by a four-digit code.
The University also urges students to practice common sense when traversing the campus. Students should stay in well-lit and highly-traveled areas. When running or walking, students should travel with someone and carry a whistle. Students should also familiarize themselves with emergency phone locations.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.pittnews.com/media/storage/paper879/news/2007/05/22/NewStudentGuide/University.Enacts.Many.Campus.Security.Measures-2906644.shtml>The Pitt News - May 22, 2007</a>
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Annie Tubbs <annietubbs@gmail.com>
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University enacts many campus security measures
campus security
pitt university
public safety
security
university response
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Kacey Beddoes
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Aaron Steiner
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2008-02-25
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ND students directly affected by shootings through ties to VT
Aaron Steiner
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: News
Virginia Tech is more than 500 miles from Notre Dame, but the effects of what reports call the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history have been felt here on campus.
A lone gunman shot and killed more than 30 people and injured dozens more on the Blacksburg, Va., campus before committing suicide Monday, according to Associated Press reports. Officials told AP that the gunman killed two people in a dormitory approximately two hours before staging a separate attack on a classroom building.
Nearly 30 people were estimated to have been injured, according to area hospital officials, CNN reported.
The Notre Dame community is saddened by the tragedy, Assistant Vice President of News and Information Dennis Brown said Monday.
"Our prayers go out to any people affected," Brown said.
Notre Dame will hold a memorial Mass for the victims tonight at 10 at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
Brown noted that members of the administration know people at Virginia Tech and said the University sends its support and prayers.
Students reported hearing the news through various sources throughout the day Monday, with some hearing from friends and family directly tied to Virginia Tech.
Graduate student Patrick LaFratta, a 2005 Virginia Tech alumnus who said one of his friends had died in the shootings, said he had been in contact with friends from the school throughout the day by phone and online.
LaFratta said he first heard the news of the shootings from his girlfriend, a Virginia Tech alumna, around 10 a.m. LaFratta confirmed that his girlfriend's sister, a current Virginia Tech student, was safe, as well as the safety of several close friends.
"When I first heard, they were reporting there was only one death," LaFratta said. "I thought, 'It's a really sad event and I want to know what is going on.'"
Soon, the news coverage took a personal tone.
LaFratta said he eventually heard that one acquaintance had been killed in the first incident in the dorm. By Monday night, LaFratta said he had seen pictures on television of his slain friend.
He said he knew the friend from Virginia Tech's marching band, where LaFratta played trumpet.
Other students with friends at the school expressed their concern Monday afternoon.
Sophomore Amelia Gillespie heard the news from her roommate before going to class Monday morning.
"I was in shock. I have a couple of friends that go there, and I'm still waiting to hear back from them," Gillespie said. "I tried to call them, but they haven't called back. I think they're okay, because I've heard from other friends."
Freshman Tracy Jennings also has friends at Virginia Tech.
"One of my friends called me around 2 p.m.," said Jennings, who is from Richmond, Va.
The friend who initially called Jennings was not a student there, but the freshman received calls from Virginia Tech students shortly thereafter.
"As soon as one friend called, another did, and more," Jennings said.
The students couldn't give many details about the incident, she said.
"All [they] said was that there was a shooting ... and at least 20 kids had been killed and at least 20 injured," she said. "As far as I've heard, everyone I know is OK."
Jennings said she couldn't contact some of her friends there Monday afternoon because phone lines were busy.
Monica Tarnawski, a sophomore, said she heard here from a friend who attends Virginia Tech Monday afternoon through the social networking Web site Facebook.
"She actually composed a note that said 'I'm fine,' and we all saw it," Tarnawski said.
Like Tarnawski, Jennings and Gillespie, LaFratta said that initially, all reports about his friends had been positive - until later Monday evening, when he first heard his friend had been killed.
LaFratta was watching television news coverage of the shooting when he learned there were more deaths that initially reported.
"At around 12:15 p.m. or so ... all of a sudden, one of the three [channels] reported that there were at least 20 dead," LaFratta said. "I just really hoped it was a mistake."
LaFratta said he soon realized the situation was much more complex than the initial single death, and he said he then felt a "tremendous amount of sorrow."
LaFratta took classes in the academic building where the majority of the deaths occurred.
"A few years ago, I was there," LaFratta said. "It hits home - these things really do happen."
LaFratta said it was hard to imagine a scare on Virginia Tech's campus last year while a convict was loose in the area. This tragedy, he said, is even harder to picture.
"The magnitude of the event is just so overwhelming," LaFratta said.
LaFratta said he would have never predicted anything like this at a campus he described as "exceptionally peaceful."
Students at Notre Dame said they feel safe on campus but recognize that an event like Monday's could happen at anywhere, Notre Dame included.
"Things like that, especially on television - it seems so far away ... [but] I think it could happen anywhere," said Chris Heckett, a visiting graduate student. "To think otherwise would probably be thoughtless."
Erin Smith, a senior, echoed Heckett's thoughts.
"It makes you realize that it could happen anywhere, on any college campus," she said. "It kind of makes you think about the security here at Notre Dame, or at any college campus."
Brown declined to comment on Notre Dame's policies or crisis management plans for any type of violent tragedy like the one Monday morning.
But Smith said she has never felt anxious about security at Notre Dame.
"I've never felt unsafe at Notre Dame," Smith said.
Senior Paul Mitchell agreed.
"I still feel as safe here as anywhere," Mitchell said, stating, however, that his notions of safety do not make Notre Dame exempt from violence like Monday's tragedy.
Virginia Tech, with an enrollment of more than 25,000, is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 160 miles west of Richmond, Va. Jennings said Virginia Tech's location as a college town - not part of a large urban area - makes her think about Notre Dame's similar setting.
"Honestly, Tech ... is in the middle of nowhere - and it seems kind of like South Bend, which is a scary thought, being here. It's a pretty enclosed campus, like here," she said.
Gillespie said the incident "kind of just puts things into perspective."
"It makes me look outside the [Notre Dame] bubble a little bit," she said. "It's a small world."
Sophomore Katie Bergerow said the tragedy caused her and her roommates to consider their safety in the residence halls.
"We were talking about how we leave our door unlocked," Bergerow said. They probably wouldn't change that behavior, she said, but the tragedy "really shows that something like this could happen."
Students are also lucky to have a variety of support resources available, said Gaotam Shewakramani, a Notre Dame alumnus visiting campus. He said such resources could help avert a violent crisis, especially those available to students who are struggling emotionally.
"I think there are a lot of resources for those who are having difficulties," Shewakramani said. "I would be surprised if someone [who is struggling] wouldn't be reached out to."
Still, Tarnawski said, it's important to remember that you can't know what people are feeling.
"You never know what people are going through inside," Tarnawski said. "Someone after my English class was like, 'You know, I just wonder what was going on in that person's life that caused them to snap.'"
That same thought crossed Mitchell's mind as well.
"My first question was why - why would someone do that, just asking questions to the psychology of that and what enables that sort of violence," Mitchell said.
Monday's massacre will go down as the deadliest campus shooting in national history. Previously, the largest was a rampage that took place in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, where 16 people were killed before police shot the gunman to death.
As the facts of yesterday's tragedy are investigated, some students say while there is little they can do, they can send their prayers and support.
"Right now, I'm here to offer any type of support I can, get involved, bring any type of awareness," Gillespie said.
LaFratta said he has done "a lot of praying" and will continue to do so.
"My first reaction is to pray a lot - my thoughts go out to all those families," LaFratta said.
LaFratta said he plans to attend tonight's memorial Mass.
--
Original Source:
<a href="http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947.shtml">http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947.shtml</a>
<a href="http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page2.shtml">http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page2.shtml</a>
<a href="http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page3.shtml">http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page3.shtml</a>
<a href="http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page4.shtml">http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/17/News/Campus.Reacts.To.Virginia.Tech.Massacre-2845947-page4.shtml</a>
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eng
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Christopher Hine <chine@nd.edu>
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Campus reacts to Virginia Tech massacre
campus security
facebook
memorial
notre dame
prayers
safety
student reactions
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Sara Hood
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Alaina Busch
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2007-08-16
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By: Alaina Busch
Posted: 4/30/07
Representatives from Ohio's colleges and universities will meet today as part of a statewide effort to address campus security issues and concerns.
Today's meeting is the first for the Campus Security Task Force, formed at the request of Gov. Ted Strickland after the Virginia Tech shootings.
"The effort is to ensure the communication and response efforts are better than adequate,"said Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey.
The Ohio Board of Regents organized the discussion-based group composed of more than 70 representatives from Ohio's public and private colleges and universities. The representatives will meet by videoconference at eight sites throughout the state, including the Ohio Supercomputer Center in Columbus.
The Board of Regents is a nine-member panel that coordinates higher education policy in Ohio and makes recommendations to the governor and General Assembly. Chancellor of Higher Education Eric Fingerhut said each university's president and board of trustees are legally responsible for their campus safety. He said the task force will first identify the best practices available and then decide what the state can do to be more helpful.
"There is value in sharing plans," Fingerhut said. The task force will compare safety practices and recommend future actions to the governor based on their findings. Depending on how the group's ideas evolve, the outcome could include a statewide coordination of safety practices or a legislation proposal, said Fingerhut.
Rick Amweg, assistant chief of University Police, and Todd Stewart, director of OSU's program for International and Homeland Security, represent OSU along with students Sean McKinniss and Jamie Levine.
"Students are on the front line in the efforts to prevent," Fingerhut said. "Students bring a very important perspective to this."
Levine, a first-year MBA student, said it is important to compare resources and share ideas.
"The causes are bigger than one university," she said, citing gun control policies and mental health issues as areas of consideration.
Levine worked in downtown Washington D.C. during the Sept. 11 attacks as an undergraduate student at American University. She said she experienced first-hand campus safety issues when her campus was evacuated because of bomb threats.
"In reality, there's no way to prevent this," she said. "You can do things to mitigate them, but you can't live in fear."
Alaina Busch can be reached at busch.61@osu.edu.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/news/2007/04/30/Campus/Task-Force.To.Better.Secure.Osu.Campus-2888077.shtml>The Lantern - April 30, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Lantern
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GERRICK LEWIS <lewis.1030@osu.edu>
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Task Force to better secure OSU campus
campus safety
campus security
ohio state university
prevention
university response
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Sara Hood
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Alex Fineman
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2007-07-15
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Monday's tragic shooting at Virginia Tech is the kind of event that provokes a nationwide outpouring of support, sympathy and questions - questions about the killer, his motives and what could have been done to prevent 33 students from needlessly dying.
Campus security, in particular, has received a lot of scrutiny. Why were classes allowed to continue after shots were fired and students were killed early in the morning?
The problem with such questions is that it is easy to ask them accusatorily in the wake of so many deaths. When nobody dies - when security clamps down on threatening behavior before it reaches such a drastic extreme - the questions asked are very different.
In November, here at UCLA, there was another incident that received nationwide coverage - the use of a Taser gun on a student.
Hundreds of people are in the campus library late at night, paying little attention to their surroundings. Per school policy, campus security officers perform student ID checks. One man refused to show his ID.
Now stop and think: Is this man an unarmed student or an unstable psychotic with a cache of weapons in his backpack? At this point, you don't know and neither do the police. The police only know that he is uncooperative and cannot prove that he has a right to be in the library. So they use their Taser guns.
If the police had found weapons in the student's backpack, they would have been hailed as heroes. Instead, they were vilified.
We know the odds are against the student being a homicidal maniac, even if he is uncooperative with police. But should the police have taken a chance against an uncooperative individual?
When a campus is open, like UCLA's, anyone can walk onto school grounds armed to the teeth. The beeper may go off when you try to carry a book out of the building, but not if you walk in with a pair of handguns.
The aphorism "better safe than sorry" exists for a reason.
Alex Fineman
UCLA law student
--
Original Source: <a href=http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/apr/23/letters_editor6/>The Daily Bruin - April 23, 2007</a>
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eng
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Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>
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Letters to the Editor - Shootings shed light on Taser incident
campus security
ucla
weapons on campus
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Sara Hood
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Andrew FitzGerald
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2007-08-14
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<b>University reps. meet with BPD to discuss prevention</b>
By: Andrew FitzGerald
Posted: 4/18/07
The day after a Virginia Tech senior shot and killed 32 people on campus and himself, representatives from 19 Boston-area colleges who met at Boston Police Department headquarters said they must improve communication in the future to prevent similar campus attacks.
University administrators joined state and local police forces to discuss "protocol, procedure and planning" that goes into preventing campus attacks during a meeting requested by Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, said BPD spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll.
Representatives at the meeting said they wanted to ensure the BPD and campus security forces are able to communicate through radio, according to Driscoll, who cited the existing Boston Area Emergency Radio Network -- a link between local campus and police departments -- that received boosted support after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Virginia Tech and college campuses around the country have reacted to Monday's shootings, in which 32 people were killed by Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui. The 23-year-old English major from South Korea killed two people in a residence hall shortly after 7 a.m., and he killed 30 in a classroom building two hours later a half-mile across campus.
Local university administrators also compared methods they use to communicate with students in pressing situations, Driscoll said.
Virginia Tech officials have received widespread criticism for not immediately contacting university members after the first shooting. Officials first sent an email to the university about the residence hall shooting at 9:26 a.m., while the gunman was carrying out his second attack.
Driscoll said another topic discussed was the importance of "recognizing the tendency of someone who may act in violence." Classmates and professors have described the shooter as someone who was not very sociable, and some professors had referred him for counseling, according to The New York Times.
Representatives at yesterday's meeting will form subcommittees to develop campus-specific security plans, which will vary based on school size and relative security, Driscoll said.
"The distinction would be that some universities have patrol forces and some do not," she said. "If the security force is unarmed, then what are the steps they should take in an unarmed situation? If the force is armed, then the response should be different."
Attending university administrators said they could not provide details on the tools security personnel use to protect their campuses because the information could aid potential attackers.
Boston University Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, who attended the meeting, declined to elaborate on specifics, only repeating Driscoll's summary that they discussed "protocols, training amongst different agencies [and] how students can access information."
Harvard University spokesman Joe Wrinn said universities and law enforcement agencies meet regularly to share information. For example, university representatives and police held a similar meeting in October 2004 to plan for potential riots after World Series games, prompted by the accidental shooting death of an Emerson College student celebrating in the streets after the Boston Red Sox won the American League Championship Series.
"We occasionally get together with other campuses and campus police," Wrinn said. "We run tabletop exercises and drills."
Driscoll said the police forces and university representatives will meet again to further develop prevention techniques, but she did not provide a date.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2007/04/18/News/Grieving.Nation.Copes.With.Tragedy-2849523.shtml> The Daily Free Press - April 18, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Daily Free Press
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Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
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Grieving nation copes with tragedy
boston university
campus safety
campus security
coping
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Sara Hood
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Anonymous
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2007-08-14
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By:Anonymous
Posted: 4/27/07
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones urged April 19 that the Ohio state legislature and Governor Ted Strickland consider drafting a new law that would require armed guards in all of Ohio's schools, colleges and universities. In the wake of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute shootings, during which a crazed student killed 32 students and faculty, debate within the Ohio General Assembly has focused heavily on how future tragedies of this sort can be prevented. Nonetheless, the extraordinary cost of this program and its doubtful effectiveness makes it a proposal that the legislature should overlook in favor of more proactive approaches that would act to prevent another school shooting.
The high cost of putting an armed guard in every Ohio school raises some serious questions regarding the state's ability to fund this program. Such a program appears to be a colossal waste of expenditures, especially given the fact that the state's budget is already in the red. Given the rarity of such attacks, it is neither prudent nor feasible to devote such a large amount of state resources to a program such as this and more cost effective measures can be implemented instead.
Additionally, the presence of an armed guard is unlikely to dissuade a deranged and suicidal student from carrying out a planned attack. It is naive to think that a security guard is a deterrent strategy, or that he or she would be able to intervene in time to stop a determined shooter. Furthermore, Jones' suggestion that teachers and faculty members could be trained and equipped with firearms is a frightening proposition. The answer to school violence does not rest in turning Ohio's public schools into armed camps, thus creating a culture of anxiety.
Placing armed contingents within Ohio's schools sends the wrong message that guns are the way to prevent violence. Indeed, Virginia Tech has one of the best campus police forces in the country. Rather, focus must be shifted toward a proactive preventive strategy that involves more funding for school counselors and an increased effort on behalf of teachers to spot troubled students and refer them to professional help. While schools should be allowed to place armed guards on their campuses and in their halls on a district by district basis, this decision should remain a local matter. Ultimately, Sheriff Jones' proposal is a reactionary measure that will do little except further Ohio's financial crisis and create an unnecessary police presence in elementary, high school and university buildings.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.miamistudent.net/media/storage/paper776/news/2007/04/27/Editorials/School.Security.Proposal.Shoves.Aside.Prevention-2884508.shtml> The Miami Student - April 27, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Miami Student
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"Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
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School security proposal shoves aside prevention
campus security
emergency preparation
miami university
security proposal
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Sara Hood
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Blair Socci
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2007-07-15
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By Blair Socci
Thursday, April 19, 2007
In the aftermath of the shootings that occurred at Virginia Tech earlier this week, the University of California is now re-evaluating its own security policies.
Authorities have been quick to assure the UCLA community that they are doing everything they can to assess current security measures, as well as to actively continue to seek out ways to improve safety.
"What happened at Virginia Tech is a reminder that nobody is immune from violence and that we all need to remain vigilant in order to protect ourselves and our institution," UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said.
"In light of what has happened at Virginia Tech, this campus, as well as other UC campuses, will be solidifying (its) security policies."
In the coming days and weeks, the university plans to review its policies and continue to examine new information that becomes available, UC President Robert Dynes said in a statement Monday.
"As we learn more about the specific circumstances of the Virginia Tech shootings, we will apply those lessons as well," he said in the statement.
At UCLA, authorities are currently devising new ways to improve mediums of response to emergencies and communication with the community, as well as providing care for people following any major incident.
Some new methods being reviewed include notifying students personally on cell phones either by sending text messages or making phone calls, Hampton said.
Another area that is being reviewed is the university's psychological services.
"We are also giving increased attention to student psychological support services and have begun phasing additional funding for these programs," Dynes said in his statement.
But UCLA officials emphasized that the university already has various ways of dealing with an emergency.
"The university has in place measures to guide us in case of an emergency," Hampton said.
He said UCLA has regular training sessions in which they practice how to respond to and communicate during an emergency, as well as electronic means of notifying the community.
"We have emergency mass e-mail, Web sites such as Gateway and MyUCLA that we can update, recorded telephone information and the campus radio station, which has recently been changed to 24-hour availability," Hampton said.
University police also currently received training on how to respond to an emergency, said Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services for UCPD.
"Our officers are highly trained individuals," she said.
This training includes drills, special emergency-response shooter training and regular briefings educating officers on new security policies and discussion of current security methods.
UCPD also uses a system called "active shooter training," which Greenstein said is based on real-life situations such as the shooting at Virginia Tech.
"We want to be able to determine the cause and have an immediate response," she said.
Greenstein said the state mandates law enforcement be involved in training every week and diligently prepare for all types of emergencies.
She added that UCPD is hoping to learn from the Virginia Tech shooting, noting that as it is only a few days after the fact, changes will likely be made in the upcoming weeks when more information is available.
A vigil co-sponsored by the Undergraduate Students Association Council Office of the President and the Office of Residential Life is planned for 8 p.m. in De Neve Plaza to give students an opportunity to express their condolences for the victims and their families, said Jesse Rogel, chief of staff at the USAC Office of the President.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/apr/19/shootings_spur_uc_assess_security_policies/>The Daily Bruin - April 29, 2007</a>
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Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>
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Shootings spur UC to assess security policies
campus security
security policies
ucla
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Sara Hood
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Caroline Briggs
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2007-08-14
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By: Caroline Briggs
Posted: 4/20/07
In the wake of the shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute Monday, Miami University's police and administration, along with Oxford Police, are checking Oxford's own ability to respond to such an emergency.
Miami President David Hodge sent an e-mail to Miami students, staff and faculty Tuesday stating that Miami's police force is highly trained and able to deal with a live shooter situation. Hodge's e-mail also outlined specific guidelines for students in a lockdown situation.
According to Miami University Police Department (MUPD) Chief John McCandless, changes have not been made to the current lockdown policy; however, he and his fellow officers have been preparing for such a situation on Miami's campus for quite
some time.
"We've been training for an active shooter for a couple of years," McCandless said. "We can tweak the police based on what worked and what didn't (for Virginia Tech police). There is a lot of misinformation streaming to the media for the first 24 to 48 hours in a situation like that. We will learn from the more solid information that the media reports in the following four or five days."
Though MUPD only has 29 full-time police officers, McCandless said he is not concerned about quantitative manpower in an emergency. He said the Oxford Police Department (OPD) has 25
full-time officers and the Oxford Township Police has 10 full and part-time officers. McCandless said these departments would fully support Miami police if necessary.
"We have a wonderful professional relationship with the local police agencies," McCandless said. "(This will) add up to be a substantial police contingency in the case of an emergency."
According to both McCandless and OPD's Chief Steve Schwein, the first force to respond to the most critical police situation; similar to the one in Blacksburg, Va.; would be Oxford's Special Response Team (SRT) Team, comprised of seven OPD officers, one Oxford Township officers and five MUPD officers.
In addition, both chiefs said further action would be determined during the events.
The squad holds monthly training sessions to prepare for hypothetical situations that need a police presence. McCandless said the SRT Team held a mock live shooter exercise in the summer of 2006 in Reid Hall on Miami's campus. The squad also traveled to New Mexico for further training funded by the Department of Homeland Security in December 2006, according to McCandless.
"Any time you can plan a tactical situation in advance, the results are almost always positive," Schwein said. "The key is being properly prepared by planning and rehearsing the situation."
Miami University Police Department Lt. Andrew Powers said he has referred students to the police Web site, which outlines procedure in the event of an emergency. It states that if the shooter is outside or in the same building, students should find a safe, lockable room and barricade themselves inside and situate themselves on the ground, away from the door.
Subjects hiding from the active shooter should not respond or move from their safe space until verifiable police arrive. Whether or not the shooter is in the room, the policy urges one person in the situation to call 911, so police may be dispatched to the area and properly deal with the situation.
McCandless also reiterated the point of calling 911. He said that though the phone may ring several times if there are a lot of calls to the station at once, the dispatch phone lines can handle it and extra officers will be standing by, if necessary, to answer emergency calls.
The Office of News and Public Information at Miami has set up a hotline to inform students of a campus-wide emergency. It was originally put in place this spring to centralize school information in regards to weather, according to Carole Johnson, the office's internal communications spokeswoman.
According to the Office of News and Public Information, that number is (513) 529-9000.
After the snowstorms and necessary cancellations that followed, Johnson said the school thought it necessary to have an outlet for information besides e-mail and Miami's Web site. Besides the hotline, she said Miami's administration is constantly looking for possible improvements so the school can better handle an emergency situation.
"We constantly look at our crisis plan, almost on a daily basis," Johnson said. "Looking at it, updating it, and continuous training are critical in continuing a solid crisis plan, year round."
Johnson also said because technology is always changing, new ways to contact students in the event of an emergency could potentially develop.
Miami University's branch campuses at Hamilton and Middletown do not have their own police force like the Oxford campus, but are instead protected by the city departments of Hamilton and Middletown.
According to Officer John Crawford of the Hamilton Police Department, policy has not changed since Monday for the department, nor does he think that it appears they will.
"Most police agencies across the country changed policy (regarding schools and active shooter situations) after the Columbine shooting in 1999," Crawford said. "Rapid deployment where officers have their equipment in their vehicle along with SWAT team presence are key in any situation like that."
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.miamistudent.net/media/storage/paper776/news/2007/04/20/FrontPage/Mupd-Opd.Evaluate.Emergency.Response.Plans-2870665.shtml>The Miami Student - April 27, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Miami Student
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"Skotzko, Stacey Nicole" <skotzksn@muohio.edu>
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MUPD, OPD evaluate emergency response plans
campus security
emergency protocol
emergency response
miami university
security
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Sara Hood
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Clarissa Nemeth
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2007-08-14
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By: Clarissa Nemeth
Posted: 4/18/07
To me, a college campus is one of the best places to be on earth. A university represents a lot of great things: youth and promise, for starters. A sense of community. A devotion to a life of the mind. Personal improvement. Ambition, dedication, discipline. All kinds of respect -- respect from students who want to learn, respect from professors who are honored to be able to share their knowledge, respect of colleagues and self-respect for a job well done. And above all, a love of knowledge, learning and teaching, with the idea that these things can improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
This is why what happened at Virginia Tech horrifies me so much. Any senseless loss of life, especially in such high numbers, is numbing and saddening. But the idea that this took place on a college campus -- especially with the shooter being a student -- is particularly difficult for me to wrap my mind around. Such a thing is in direct reproach to all the wonderful things that a university, one of the civilized world's oldest and most respected institutions, stands for.
This was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, and it happened in a community devoted to higher learning. How does a university community -- teachers, students and staff alike -- begin to recover from such a horrific turn of events, especially because the betrayal came from within?
There is already much criticism of the way the university handled itself during the crucial hours. But how much better could it have done it? How prepared could it have been for something like this? I'm certain that, had it happened here, Boston University would have not have fared much better.
University administrators do think about student safety, but they are generally not thinking about their own students going on shooting rampages. And what a horrible precedent this has set. Clearly, now they will have to start thinking about it.
I have a friend at Virginia Tech, and thankfully, she and her friends are safe. But I grieve for her, nonetheless, because of what her community will be going through in the days and months to come, particularly when the media coverage subsides and they are left to pick up the pieces on their own.
Somebody on CNN said yesterday that because of these circumstances no matter what college we are affiliated with, "Today, we are all Hokies."
My heart goes out to the friends and families of those who died, but my prayers belong to everyone affiliated with Virginia Tech. I believe that every university in the country should have its flag at half-mast tomorrow. This tragedy did not just happen to Virginia Tech. It happened to all of us, in this larger community devoted to everything that colleges and universities stand for.
Clarissa Nemeth
CFA '08
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2007/04/18/Opinion/Letter.Massacre.Is.senseless.Loss-2849549.shtml>The Daily Free Press - April 18, 2007</a>
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Matt Negrin <editor@dailyfreepress.com>
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LETTER: Massacre is 'senseless loss'
boston university
campus security
college campuses
student safety
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Craig Chi
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2007-07-15
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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The tragic event that took place at Virginia Tech on Monday raises many questions in students' minds: How safe are we? What measures are in place to keep us safe from harm while we're in class, in our dorms, or walking across campus?
Heaven forbid that a shooting should occur on our campus, but if it did, what would you do? What could you do? The truth is ... not much.
Current law, as well as UC policy, prohibits you from providing yourself with a means of self-defense.
UCLA's weapons policy prohibits common defensive items. Like Virginia Tech, UCLA doesn't allow firearms on campus even for law-abiding individuals trained and licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
Even if UCLA did, California state law forbids it.
As UC students, we're forced to remain unarmed and defenseless.
Because of this, we can only hope that suspension or expulsion will serve as a sufficient deterrent for those that mean to harm us. Forgive me if I'm less than confident.
While you could always call the police if such a situation were to occur, their response times are measured in minutes.
However, in life-threatening situations like the shooting at Virginia Tech, survival is measured in seconds.
A single armed student or faculty member could have quickly ended - if not prevented - any and all school shootings.
It's time for change. It's time to rethink the "feel-good" legislation that is leaving thousands of innocent people defenseless.
It's time to let our state and national representatives know that we want to be safe. It's time that we let university students and public school teachers protect themselves and those in their care.
I urge you to call, write a letter or send an e-mail to your representatives to ask them to make public schools and college campuses places where law-abiding citizens can defend themselves.
Craig Chi
UCLA graduate student, Electrical Engineering
--
Original Source: <a href=http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/apr/18/letters_editor8/>The Daily Bruin - April 18, 2007</a>
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eng
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Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>
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Letters to the Editor: Self-defense could stop violence
campus security
selfdefense
ucla
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Sara Hood
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David J. Skorton
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2007-07-10
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By David J. Skorton
May 2 2007
I had intended this final column of the academic year to be one mainly of gratitude to my colleagues at The Cornell Daily Sun and to readers of the newspaper for permitting me this space and for the tremendously helpful feedback I received as a result of these "From David" columns. I look forward to another year of useful interchange through this column and in many other fora in 2007-08.
I believe we have made progress as a campus this year in confronting important issues, ranging from violence, to mental health, to what it means to be part of an inclusive campus community. Although we have not resolved some issues of importance to this campus, I believe we have learned a great deal together about how to have the sorts of conversations we need to have in order to create change. I am especially heartened by the progress we have made on diversity issues, and I look forward to continuing our progress with the support, leadership and encouragement of the University Diversity Council and through the self-governance processes underway to foster greater community involvement.
As Cornellians, all of us can take pride in the achievements of our colleagues and friends this year. Some have won major national and international awards and many more have demonstrated a great willingness to share their skills and talents with the campus and the world — in the classroom, laboratory and studio; on the playing field; through public service; and through music, dance, theater and art. Eli Northrup '07 and Joshua Raff '07 have even come up with a rap to update the Alma Mater, which I heard performed last week by Pants Velour. Whether you are moving on to the next stage of your life or continuing on at Cornell, you have helped make this a vibrant and engaged community, and I congratulate you and thank you for your efforts.
Unfortunately, the end of the academic year has brought with it the incomprehensible, horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech University. In the best Cornell tradition, we have shared the sadness of the moment, extended our sympathy to our colleagues at Virginia Tech, their friends and families and also taken action to improve our systems for dealing with emergency situations that may arise on our own campus.
At least two areas require our continuing attention:
• the mental health and wellbeing of students, faculty and staff.
• the state of campus security and communications and the regulation of firearms and other weapons in the context of our campus communities.
In earlier columns I have touched on the issues of stress and mental health, as well as on violence on campus. In the sphere of mental health services, a balance must be achieved between the rights of privacy of the individual and the more general public interest. As mentioned in my earlier column, at Cornell we are experimenting with a range of approaches for reaching students, including serious efforts to locate counseling and mental health services where students live and gather and to establish effective "early warning systems" that permit us to identify colleagues in distress and to intervene as appropriate. Last week's op-ed in the Cornell Chronicle by Gregory T. Eels, associate director of Gannett Health Services and director of counseling and psychological services, described what Cornell is doing in this area and also what counseling can and cannot do.
Campus security also requires a delicate balance — one that enhances the safety of our campuses without destroying the openness of either our built environment or the intellectual environment, both of which make the university experience what it is. While we cannot shrink from doing what we can to enhance the safety of our campuses, we also cannot and should not turn the learning environment into a high-security, gated community, where fear trumps openness and threatens the grand experiments that universities offer in what historian Carl Becker called "freedom with responsibility."
For the past several years, long before the Virginia Tech tragedy, those responsible for safety and security at Cornell have been working to optimize emergency procedures and communications through an institution-wide approach. We already have in place a variety of methods for mass notification in the event of an emergency, ranging from telephone trees to message-blaster e-mails, and we are examining additional ways of reaching large numbers of people during the middle of the day through text-messaging, enunciation panels in individual buildings and expanded alarms. In the weeks to come, we will share with the campus the results of accelerated deliberations on these safety and communications issues.
The subject of firearm regulation is, of course, extraordinarily controversial throughout our country. New York State law prohibits anyone from possessing a rifle, shotgun or firearm (or pellet guns, spring guns and certain other weapons) on a school, college or university campus, without written authorization from the institution. The Cornell Police takes that law very seriously and is committed to its enforcement.
Nonetheless, the more general issue of the easy availability of lethal force is one that must be faced squarely in order to reduce the likelihood of other gun-related tragedies, whether on a college campus or in another venue where people feel relatively safe, such as a shopping mall or sporting event. And the interaction between the regulations regarding mental health record privacy and the background check process for weapon purchase requires constant attention.
Whether this marks the conclusion of your time at Cornell or a brief hiatus, I leave you with three messages. First, let's remember this year for its achievements, but also with new empathy for those who are struggling with the challenges of alienation and loss. Second, please make your own views on gun regulation known to our elected leaders in order to encourage the discussion we, as a nation, need to have in the wake of the most difficult circumstances in Blacksburg, Virginia. Please report acts of violence to those in a position to help, and also express your thoughts about mental health and campus security to me and to others on campus who help shape our policies and procedures. Third, thank you for making my first year at Cornell so enormously rewarding and productive.
--
Original Source: <a href=http://cornellsun.com/node/23320> Cornell Daily Sun - May 2, 2007</a>
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Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
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Looking Forward
campus security
cornell
mental health
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David Reynolds
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2007-07-16
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<b>Will examine campus security</b>
By: David Reynolds, Staff Writer
Posted: 4/20/07
In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, school systems across the country are discussing new security measures to ensure that such a harrowing event never could be duplicated.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine announced Thursday that an independent review panel has been formed to analyze the circumstances surrounding Monday's shooting.
Retired Virginia State police Superintendent Col. Gerald Massengill will be the head of the panel, which also will include Tom Ridge, the former U.S. secretary of homeland security.
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper also has called for a special task force in conjunction with the State Bureau of Investigation, the UNC system, the N.C. Community College System and the N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities to look for improvements in campus emergency plans.
"We'll be looking at issues such as guidelines for when to declare a campus lockdown, how to better communicate with students and faculty in a crisis and more ways to identify a potential shooter, along with many others," he said in a Wednesday press conference.
Hope Williams, president of N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities, said school administrators will choose a task force during the next 10 days. She said this task force will release a report within six months containing suggestions for the 2007 fall semester.
The task force will not mandate changes, Williams said, because a one-size plan cannot fit different universities' needs.
"I think the major question is one of modifying and adjusting existing emergency response plans as institutions feel it is necessary."
Jeff Davies, the chief of staff for UNC-system President Erskine Bowles, said discussions already had begun concerning improvements in security before the Va. Tech incident, but the event has added impetus to the debate.
"The decisions have been made to ensure that all residence halls will have card access, alarms and cameras," he said. "We are trying to wrap our arms around a very big issue in a very short amount of time."
Davies said the UNC system likely will ask for state funding for the changes.
And like many other schools nationwide, UNC-Chapel Hill has looked critically at its security measures.
UNC-CH officials said their campus police have completed annual active shooter training and will work with local law enforcement in the case of an emergency.
UNC-CH has the ability to contact students through radio broadcast, housing fliers and campuswide informational e-mails.
E-mails sent to the University community take roughly two hours to reach all intended recipients.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/04/20/StateNational/State.Looks.To.Review-2870573.shtml> The Daily Tar Heel - April 20, 2007</a>
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eng
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The Daily Tar Heel
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Kevin Schwartz <kschwartz@unc.edu>
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State looks to review
campus security
state safety review
unc
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Sara Hood
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Editorial Staff
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2007-07-11
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<strong>Emory's Campus No Place For Guns</strong><br />
Issue date: 5/1/07<br />
Section: Editorials
The recent controversy concerning funding for a College Republicans' trip to a shooting range has brought the issues of gun control and campus safety to the forefront of the Emory discourse.
Last Wednesday, College Council denied the College Republicans funding to help pay for a trip to a local shooting range. The College Republicans said they hoped the trip would promote safe and responsible gun handling and ownership. College Council legislators say they withheld the funds due to safety concerns, even going so far as to propose an amendment to the organization's monetary code prohibiting the use of College Council funds to purchase or rent firearms and ammunition.
Generally speaking, we believe College Council should be able to fund activities like a trip to the shooting range. Shooting is a sport recognized by the NCAA, and shooting range sessions monitored by professionals are exceedingly safe. Amending the monetary code to prevent such trips is unwarranted.
It's unfortunate that the shootings at Virginia Tech took place just weeks before the scheduled date for the trip, but given that the College Republicans had been planning this event for quite some time, we don't believe the shootings are an adequate reason for the trip to be cancelled. Although some could perceive the trip as insensitive, there is still an immense difference between safely firing a gun at a target and using a gun to commit mass murder. If the College Republicans want to take a trip to the shooting range, then they should receive the same support given to any other group.
What we cannot condone is the College Republicans' plan to request permission from University President James W. Wagner to carry concealed weapons on campus. This idea was proposed by nationally syndicated radio host Lars Larson on whose show Tittsworth appeared to discuss the Council's decision to deny funding.
Under current Georgia law, it is illegal for a civilian to carry any sort of weapon or explosive compound while on school property. There's a reason such a law was passed. We understand the need for protection and the value of feeling safe at school, but we do not believe that allowing more guns on campus will help foster the open learning environment we want at the University.
Allowing guns on campus would propagate an atmosphere tinged with the spectre of possible violence. This would make us less safe, rather than moreso. The only people who should be allowed guns on campus are those who have gone through rigorous training to become certified in their use and have taken an oath to protect the citizenry - in this case, the Emory Police Department.
The College Republicans should realize that by tying the issue of funding from College Council to the ludicrous question of concealed weapons on campus, they are only hurting their prospects of getting that money in the future. Who would want to give money for a shooting range trip to a group that has expressed its desire to carry concealed weapons on campus?
As the Second Amendment states, there is a place for guns in our society. The shooting range is one of those places - Emory's campus is not.
--
Original Source: <a href= http://media.www.emorywheel.com/media/storage/paper919/news/2007/05/01/Editorials/Our-Opinion.Gun.Control-2889391.shtml> Emory Wheel - May 1, 2007</a>
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eng
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"Christopher H. Megerian" <cmegeri@LearnLink.Emory.Edu>
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Our Opinion: Gun Control
campus security
emory
gun control
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Kacey Beddoes
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Editorial Staff
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2008-02-25
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Staff Editorial
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Viewpoint
There are still plenty of questions surrounding what happened Monday at Virginia Tech.
But one thing that isn't up for discussion is that Notre Dame should have a plan in case the unthinkable happens here.
Which is why University President Father John Jenkins' e-mail Thursday discussing emergency plans was a welcome - and much needed - announcement for students, faculty and, maybe most of all, parents.
That message didn't come, however, until days after the shooting - days of wondering and worrying and wanting to know what Notre Dame would do.
Earlier this week, members of the administration and Notre Dame Security/Police were unwilling to comment on the University's preparedness for such an emergency, leaving students questioning if the plan was fully developed.
But now, Jenkins has reassured the community through an e-mail that, while somewhat vague, promises the University will work to further prepare for anything that may come along.
It's understandable that Notre Dame would need time to work out certain details before making a plan public. Still, when information of this nature isn't being released, it's important to tell people why, instead of generating anxious speculation that no plan exists.
Hopefully, Notre Dame's plan will eventually include the text-message initiative, one of the few specifics Jenkins included in his e-mail. If implemented, the procedure would go a long way to helping Notre Dame not repeat the delay in warning students that happened in Blacksburg.
While other details of the plan will likely always be kept secret, it's necessary to be open about all procedures and safety measures that do not compromise security - and open in telling students when information isn't released due to security concerns.
--
Original Source:
<a href="http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/Viewpoint/Security.With.Transparency-2870855.shtml">http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/Viewpoint/Security.With.Transparency-2870855.shtml</a>
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eng
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Christopher Hine <chine@nd.edu>
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Security with transparency
campus security
emergency plan
notre dame
text-message initiative
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Sara Hood
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Elyse McCoy
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2007-07-15
Description
An account of the resource
By: Elyse McCoy, Staff Writer
Posted: 7/5/07
The University is in the initial stages of development for the Public Information Emergency Response Communication Management System, or PIER, an Internet-based communication tool used to help relay emergency-related content and messages.
Students, faculty and staff will be alerted in the event of a crime, unexpected weather emergency or other event that requires immediate warning through a secure Web page that will look like a regular UNC-Chapel Hill Web page. Using the PIER system, campus security officials can post key emergency materials; templates of information prepared in advance about certain scenarios; detailed information about how to reach the University's key constituents, including students, faculty and staff; and background information about the campus, maps and emergency policies and procedures.
PIER also provides the capability to track and respond to questions from key stakeholders or the general public.
Following the Virginia Tech shootings, the University has strengthened its already extensive plans and procedures, but plans for developing a contract with the PIER vendor for the 16-campus UNC system have been in existence since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Charlotte have been the most involved campuses to date, with Wilmington being designated the first campus to begin its PIER-related work and training several months ago.
The PIER system's clients include the U.S. Coast Guard - which used the system during Hurricane Katrina, the University of Houston, and several major corporations.
UNC-Chapel Hill has just recently begun training a small group of key people most likely to be involved with using PIER as a communication tool in an emergency situation, including those involved in University relations, public safety and information technology departments.
"We have started working on training issues as the spring semester was winding down and will continue over the summer," said Mike McFarland, the director of University communications.
"We believe PIER can help complement resources the University already uses and are developing, such as a siren system and the Rave system to communicate quickly, accurately and effectively with students, faculty, staff and other University-related audiences or the general public," McFarland said. Unlike the PIER system, which is primarily focused around managing information in an emergency, the Rave system is part of a broader effort to extend the campus to mobile phones.
"Rave has much more day-to-day impact on the lives of our students," said Brian Payst, the director of Technology & Systems Support.
"We certainly can, and will if needed, use Rave to send emergency broadcast messages, but it does much, much more than that for us."
The Rave system is used to provide bus arrival times for all the Chapel Hill Transit routes and stops, the ability to read UNC e-mail, information from slice.unc.edu about student events, Blackboard alerts, Rave Guardian (an enhanced personal safety service), group messaging, polls and more on students' mobile phones. The University's partnership with Rave Wireless also enables the University to offer a steeply discounted cell phone program to students living in residence halls on campus in order to allow access to these services at the lowest possible cost.
The campus Emergency Notification committee has been coordinating efforts to integrate the PIER and Rave systems as much as possible to reduce duplication where it exists.
"We plan to integrate the information coming from PIER into a spot in the UNC mobile phone interface so you can easily check for closings or other important announcements coming from PIER," Payst said.
Payst does not think that the implementation of both the PIER system and the Rave system will be confusing to either students or their parents.
"They do different things, so we do not think it will be all that confusing, and we will work hard to clearly communicate the distinctions where they arise."
--
Original Source: <a href=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/07/05/University/Emergency.Management.Comes.To.Unc-2921381.shtml>The Daily Tar Heel - July 05, 2007</a>
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eng
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Kevin Schwartz <kschwartz@unc.edu>
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Emergency management comes to UNC
campus security
emergency response
unc
-
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Sara Hood
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Eugene Wang
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2007-06-24
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By: Eugene Wang
Posted: 4/20/07
Executive Vice President Tallman Trask spoke about Duke's emergency response system and Jo Rae Wright, dean of the Graduate School, reported on the future of the school at the Academic Council's meeting Thursday.
Paul Haagen, chair of the council and professor of law, said he asked Trask to speak about Duke's preparation for "extraordinary safety-related events," in light of the massacre at Virginia Tech Monday.
Duke has the plans, equipment and notification systems in place to respond to emergencies, Trask said. He added, however, that a response system alone may not have been able to prevent the tragedy.
"In the current circumstances, I can assure you we have taken all prudent preparatory steps to deal with the circumstances," Trask said. He added it is impossible for the University to notify everyone instantly in the case of an emergency.
"We don't know of any communication systems that can get a message to 27,000 people in three minutes," Trask said.
He also noted that although the electronic door locks can be instantly disabled, there is no way of instantaneously restricting entry to Duke's campus.
"We don't even control access to our campus... there are almost 20 different roads anyone could ride down to get into Duke," Trask said.
Some members asked why no mass message was sent to the students and their parents after the massacre at Virginia Tech.
"We deliberately decided not to send a message to all parents... because none of us really know what to say, none of us know the facts," Trask said.
Council members also discussed if Counseling and Psychological Services has the capacity and strategies to deal with students' mental health issues. "We need to be clearer in instructions about what faculty can and cannot do," Trask said.
The council also listened to a presentation by Wright on the "strategic plan" for the Graduate School and the state of the school's finances. She said her goals for the future are like a "three-legged stool"-to recruit, retain and train the "best and most successful students."
She said the school must improve its financial support packages, including health insurance, stipends and summer research awards, if it hopes to attract talented graduate students. "Having outstanding graduate students is critical to getting outstanding faculty," Wright said. "If we aren't willing to make that commitment as an institution, then we're in the wrong business."
She said her priorities for the Graduate School next year include recruiting underrepresented minorities, planning the Graduate Student Center and evaluating teaching assistant training programs. Wright added, however, that the funds to implement these priorities are still uncertain.
--
Original Source: <a href=http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/04/20/News/Council.Hears.Duke.Safety.Plans-2871367.shtml>Duke Chronicle - April 20, 2007</a>
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eng
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David Graham <david.graham@duke.edu>
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Council hears Duke safety plans
campus security
community response
duke
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Contributor
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Sara Hood
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Jackie Barber
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2007-07-13
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<b>University will focus on solving issues involving wages, safety through transition to Gene Block</b>
By Jackie Barber
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams addressed myriad staff concerns such as Chancellor-elect Gene Block, employee compensation, and campus security on Tuesday afternoon during a staff meeting.
About 100 staff members attended the meeting, hosted by Staff Assembly President Shelley Brown.
Abrams began his speech by praising the staff's contributions to UCLA, calling the unique sense of community fostered on campus "a treasure" for such a large university and said he is impressed with Block.
"You will find him open, a quick study, and one whose values are all in the right place," Abrams said. "I'm confident he will make a great chancellor."
Abrams said the biggest challenge for Block will be "recruitment and retention of both staff and faculty."
He cited the high cost of housing in Los Angeles as an obstacle in attracting employees from elsewhere, as potential employees have expressed concern about their ability to afford quality local housing.
Each year the university attempts to increase the salaries of its faculty and staff, but these salaries have fallen below market, Abrams said, adding that a long-term goal for the university is to bring salaries back to market value.
Raises for the university's lowest-paid workers is also a current focus, Abrams added. He said the university has been working with the unions toward this goal.
Abrams called the salary concern "a work in progress," but said he believes Block is up to the task and is familiar with similar issues because of his experience serving as president of the University of Virginia.
UCLA employee compensation is a major concern not only for the UCLA community, but also for the Los Angeles area, said Nicole Moore, lead organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union Local 3299.
"Custodians (at UCLA) are paid 25 percent below what community college custodians are paid, and many people here are without a living wage," she said. "We have many concerns about the budgeting process. We want to make sure UCLA is not creating poverty in the Los Angeles community."
She said the university must address its role in providing quality jobs and affordable health care.
Abrams enlisted Karl Ross, chief of university police, to address campus security in light of the recent Virginia Tech shootings.
Ross said there are 61 campus officers, and after the Columbine shootings in 1999, these officers have been trained for active-shooter situations.
The department is also "tied into a terrorism early-action task force," Ross said.
Ross said a group from the department meets with Student Psychological Services weekly to monitor possible threats.
The most likely disaster on campus, though, is an earthquake, Ross said.
Abrams pointed to the new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which is not yet open, as a positive development this year.
"It's going to be the most technologically advanced hospital in the United States, and possibly the world," he said.
Brown read anonymous questions submitted for Abrams by the staff, including a question on the "lingering challenge" of course and space availability.
The session also gave Abrams the opportunity to speak about the renovation of Pauley Pavilion, and he said a committee has formed to raise money and make decisions on the project.
The building's name will not change, nor will the basic structure, but the committee has hired a firm to do preliminary designs, which Abrams has seen and called "very exciting," he said.
Design ideas include reconstructing the bleachers to create better viewing angles and building a concourse to encase the building. Digging underneath Pauley to build a practice court is also a possibility, though an expensive one, he said.
The renovation may be constructed by John Wooden's 100th birthday in about three years, Abrams said, prompting enthusiastic chatter from the audience.
Dinora Duarte, Staff Assembly historian and secretary and an organizer of the event, said though there were no surprises, she was pleased with Abrams' presentation.
"Considering he won't be here after July 31, I thought he had a good grasp on where the university is going," she said.
She added she believes the assembly gave the staff a valuable opportunity to hear ideas firsthand from the chancellor.
"We actually really look forward to the event," she said of the annual assembly.
--
Original Source:<a href=http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/may/09/chancellor_discusses_campus_concerns/> The Daily Bruin - May 9, 2007</a>
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eng
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Saba Riazati <editor@media.ucla.edu>
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Chancellor discusses campus concerns
campus security
chancellor responds
ucla
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Sara Hood
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JARED TRENT STONESIFER
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2007-08-19
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By: JARED TRENT STONESIFER
Assistant News Editor
Posted: 4/20/07
Pittsburgh Police responded to a report of a bomb in a Carnegie Mellon University parking lot yesterday and later deemed the area safe.
Forbes Avenue was closed for more than an hour yesterday afternoon after someone called 911 and allegedly saw a person putting a bomb in a white car.
Police later spotted the reported car and pulled it over in a parking lot on Carnegie Mellon's campus. After inspection the device was rendered safe, according to Pittsburgh Police Zone 4 spokesman Matthew White.
"Someone called in what they thought may have been a bomb," White said. "The car was inspected at CMU, which does a lot of work with the Defense Department, so it was a call we had to take seriously."
Forbes Avenue reopened around 2:30 p.m. yesterday after the Allegheny County bomb squad found a cylinder in the back of the car and deemed it not to be dangerous.
The driver was detained for questioning and an investigation is pending.
White admitted that the recent incident at Virginia Tech has people more anxious and that more precautions than usual are now needed.
"Virginia Tech has everyone on edge," he said. "This week is also the anniversary of the Columbine shootings and the bombing at Oklahoma City."
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.pittnews.com/media/storage/paper879/news/2007/04/20/News/No.Bomb.On.Cmu.Campus-2870154.shtml>The Pitt News - April 20, 2007</a>
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Annie Tubbs <annietubbs@gmail.com>
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No bomb on CMU campus
bomb threat
campus security
pitt university
security
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Sara Hood
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Katy Doll
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2007-07-16
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<b>Text messages can notify police</b>
By: Katy Doll, Staff Writer
Posted: 4/20/07
UNC officials are implementing a phone system that alerts campus police when students are in danger.
Beginning this fall, the University will offer the Rave Guardian program, which uses a Global Positioning System timer to notify police of students' locations when needed.
"You can set a timer on your phone that says: 'If I don't reset this timer, I want you to send a signal to campus police,'" said Larry Hicks, director of the Department of Housing and Residential Education.
When the time expires, the phone alerts the student, and if it's not turned off, Rave contacts campus police, who can locate the phone using GPS technology.
In the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting, campus security is on everyone's mind, but UNC officials were planning to implement Rave Guardian before Monday's shootings.
UNC officials are in negotiations with different providers and do not know the exact costs associated with purchasing the program.
Hicks said the housing department plans to offer a reduced price on GPS phones to all on-campus students next year.
There will be a push for incoming freshmen to buy the phones, which will be promoted at C-TOPS.
The program is part of the Rave Wireless system, an existing service that allows students to receive text messages about Blackboard updates and bus routes. The service also has an emergency broadcasting system.
"We could basically send out a broadcast message to all the users of the Rave system," said Brian Payst, director of technology and systems support for the division of student affairs.
Students whose phones aren't equipped for the GPS program can use Rave's other features, such as emergency text messaging. Students can sign up at www.unc.edu/rave.
Rave was established as a pilot program at UNC last summer with a group of about 20 students and now has 364 students, Payst said.
The emergency system never has been used, but officials said they have completed tests of the system.
"We've done tests, and they've gone just fine," Payst said. "You log in and have a Web page, type in your message and hit send. It just takes minutes - seconds even."
Officials also said a campuswide siren system is on its way.
"It certainly wasn't intended to deal with what happened at Virginia Tech, but it can deal with that as well," said James Alty, director of facilities services.
Hicks said safety issues have been at the forefront of UNC's concerns.
"It's basically taking a little bit more emphasis as a result of Virginia Tech," he said. "People want to expedite the plans."
--
Original Source:<a href=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/04/20/University/Unc-To.Get.Phone.Alerts-2870650.shtml>The Daily Tar Heel - April 20, 2007</a>
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eng
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Kevin Schwartz <kschwartz@unc.edu>
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UNC to get phone alerts
campus security
emergency notification
phone alerts
unc
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Kacey Beddoes
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Ken Fowler
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2008-02-25
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Jenkins e-mail explains University security
Ken Fowler
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: News
Though Notre Dame created a task force in 2006 to review crisis plans, the deaths of 33 people at Virginia Tech Monday "will spur even greater review and preparedness," University President Father John Jenkins said in an e-mail to students Thursday.
Though limited in scope, Jenkins' message was the most in-depth explanation of Notre Dame's security measures since Monday's shootings.
In the 700-word letter, Jenkins said Notre Dame has procedures in place to respond to natural emergencies as well as acts of violence. The University continues to search for the best ways to communicate with students in the event of a campus crisis.
Jenkins noted the Office of Information Technology's pilot program to send text messages to all students who provide their cell phone numbers.
University spokesman Don Wycliff said Thursday that Jenkins' letter did not go into more detail about specific response procedures as a safety precaution, so that security details of the plan would not be compromised.
"There had been a sense all during the week that at some point it would be appropriate to address the issues," Wycliff said. "Today seemed appropriate."
Jenkins reaffirmed the University's desire to have the service fully operational by fall and said officials would encourage students to participate in "this important and innovative communications initiative."
The question of communication is only heightened by the University's decision in 2006 to de-standardize land telephone lines in dorm rooms.
In an interview with The Observer at the beginning of the school year, Director of Integrated Communications Services at OIT Steven Ellis said only 60 students initially paid a $161 fee to have the dorm phones in their room. Every resident assistant, however, does have a landline, provided free.
In the e-mail, Jenkins expressed confidence that Notre Dame Security/Police's (NDSP) 28 police officers and 35 additional security personnel could adequately handle major incidents on campus and work with other local emergency responders to control a crisis scene.
"These men and women receive regular training to address a wide variety of emergency situations, and the department maintains a productive and close relationship with all public safety agencies in the area," Jenkins said.
For emergency situations, Jenkins said, the University maintains 48 call boxes throughout campus and keeps telephones in the public areas of each residence hall.
Jenkins did not detail a specific plan of action for NDSP in the event of a major campus incident and did not say what University officials have the authority to declare a lock-down on potions campus or specific buildings.
"Please know that safety is of paramount importance to all of us at Notre Dame," Jenkins said. "While we believe we are ready to respond to a myriad of circumstances, the tragedy at Virginia Tech will spur even greater review and preparedness."
--
Original Source:
<a href="http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/News/Tragedy.Prompts.Campus.Action-2871131.shtml">http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2007/04/20/News/Tragedy.Prompts.Campus.Action-2871131.shtml</a>
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Christopher Hine <chine@nd.edu>
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Tragedy prompts campus action
call boxes
campus security
emergency response plans
notre dame
text messages