Campus security reacts to shootings
ND looks into cell phone text messaging to alert students of emergencies
Kaitlynn Riely, Aaron Steiner and Ken Fowler
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: News
Notre Dame has procedures in place to respond to major incidents and crises, but the University is not commenting on most specifics of those plans, officials said Wednesday.
Nationwide, universities have been asked about - and have offered self-evaluations of -emergency protocols in the aftermath of Monday's mass slayings at Virginia Tech University. A lone gunman apparently shot and killed two students in a dorm on the Blacksburg, Va., campus two hours before opening fire and killing 30 more people in one of the school's academic buildings half a mile away.
"Suffice it to say, that plans do exist," University spokesman Don Wycliff said. "They are constantly being reviewed in light of the Virginia Tech experience, and we would be [foolish] if we do not attempt to review those plans."
Wycliff said he expects Notre Dame to comment on campus security plans in the future, but he couldn't give an exact date.
Notre Dame Security/Police (NDSP) Director Phil Johnson declined to comment on NDSP's procedures for crisis management plans and referred all questions to University representatives in the Office of News and Information.
Wycliff declined to comment on what offices have the authority to lock down buildings or entire portions of campus in the event of an emergency. He would not say if the University has a campus broadcasting system it could use to transmit emergency messages to faculty, students and staff.
But Gordon Wishon, the University's chief information officer, said Notre Dame has been looking into the possibility of compiling a database of cellular phone numbers to send text messages to in the event of a campus emergency.
Wishon said the University is preparing to launch a pilot program of the text messaging system, and it will test the service throughout the remainder of this semester and summer. He said the University expects to have this service fully ready by the fall.
He said the discussions and plans received more attention and support when Notre Dame eliminated standard telephone lines in each dorm room in 2006.
"We began exploring that some time ago ... realizing that the primary mode of communication for college students is cell phones," Wishon said of the text messaging plan.
Wishon noted that the University added voicemail service and each student is given a voicemail number, but officials believed they needed to look into other methods of communication in case of a crisis.
"We knew that wouldn't work in case of an emergency," Wishon said.
In addition to the text messaging plan, Wishon said the Office of Information Technology has looked into and is investigating the possibility of voice messages and video messages - available through e-mails or from a Web site - as well as the idea of utilizing the closed-circuit television system on campus for public service announcements.
Wishon said the University is looking into the possibility of broadcasting an emergency tone on Notre Dame's 10 reserved cable channels to alert the University community of any emergencies if it deemed it necessary.
"The bottom line is that we are looking for as many ways as we can to communicate with students, as well as staff and faculty, in an emergency or crisis situation," he said. "As terrible as Monday's tragedy is, the administration here at the University has been working to refine its crisis management plan for some time."
Wishon said the work to "refine" and review crisis management plans was organized and initiated by the Office of the President.
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Kaitlynn Riely, Aaron Steiner and Ken Fowler
2008-02-25
Kacey Beddoes
Christopher Hine <chine@nd.edu>
eng
Campus security reacts to shootings
Saint Mary's reviews security protocols, does not anticipate changes changes
Katie Kohler
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: News
Saint Mary's students may feel safe on their quiet residential Indiana campus, but until Monday, students in Blacksburg, Va., felt the same way. In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, members of the Saint Mary's community have began asking, "Are we safe?"
College President Carol Ann Mooney addressed those concerns in an e-mail to students Wednesday, asking them to take steps to protect each other.
"Saint Mary's is a secure place, but that does not mean we have been lulled into complacency," she said in the e-mail. "We must remember that college safety and security is everyone's responsibility."
In an e-mail Tuesday, Vice President of Student Affairs Karen Johnson told students to keep their eyes open and report any suspicious activity on campus - especially near the residence halls.
"Don't let people 'tailgate' into the residence halls behind you," Johnson said. "If anyone tries to do so, report them to the desk attendant or College Security."
Current emergency protocol
While the events at Virginia Tech are making colleges across the nation question their current safety procedures, Saint Mary's is simply working to improve the security protocols in place.
Saint Mary's is trying to improve the existing standard operating procedure in the event of a gun crime or shooting on campus, said Saint Mary's Director of Security David Gariepy.
But rather than a reaction to Monday's Virginia Tech bloodbath, Johnson said these upgrades are always on the administration's agenda.
"This is not something we just started working on," she said. "Security is always of utmost importance, and so we are always working on making it better."
The administration and members of a security planning committee, she said, are currently reviewing a new duty manual.
The Saint Mary's Security Web site has a detailed emergency response plan for chemical or biological threats and natural disasters, keeping the stipulations of Homeland Security. There is no specific mention, however, of gun crime protocols.
In any emergency, students can expect notification via e-mail, telephone and direct contact, according to the Web site.
The site also encourages students to have emergency supplies pre-packed in case of an evacuation and take shelter in the basement of Regina Hall.
"It is not recommended you remain in your room or office, nor should you leave the campus. Assistance will be provided for you there," the Web site reads.
As helpful these tips may be, Gariepy said each situation is different and unpredictable.
"Everything pertains to a particular situation. Going by the book doesn't always cut it," he said. "Students should always be aware."
The problem, though, is that most students are not keeping an eye out for suspicious activities, and even if they did, they might simply panic, sophomore Kristen Anderson said.
"If there was a shooting, a bomb threat, a rapist on campus, anything really, I would have no idea how to react, and I know many students feel the same way," she said.
Sophomore Perri Hamma felt the same, saying she was still shaking from hearing about the Virginia Tech massacre and wouldn't know how to react in a similar situation.
"I honestly don't have any idea about our emergency procedures," Hamma said. "If something bad happened, I don't think I'd know what to do."
Accessing residence halls
Of the four residence halls on Saint Mary's campus, only one - McCandless Hall - has an ID card swipe access system in place at the front door. LeMans and Regina Hall lobbies are open, but visitors must swipe an ID card to go up to the rooms. Holy Cross Hall does not require swiping at all, but Johnson said she doesn't think students in the residence hall are more exposed for this reason.
"I don't think there is any greater risk at Holy Cross than other dorms that require swiping," Johnson said. "If somebody really wants to get into any building, they will figure it out."
Johnson gave residents - not ID card capabilities -the responsibility of keeping the halls clear of strangers.
"The dorm is only as safe as the people that live there make it," she said.
Lockdown
In the event of a lockdown, Saint Mary's will "start at the top," Gariepy said. The president will make the judgment call through recommendations from security officials.
A lockdown, however, may not be the safest option.
"Lockdown isn't always a good option. It is determined by the particular event we are dealing with and may cause more harm than good," Gariepy said. "In some situations, keeping people where they are is good. In others, it could be dangerous."
While heightened security is assumed during emergency situations, the security Web site said that in case of an evacuation of Regina, all swipe-card systems would be deactivated "for easy access."
Johnson also said a campus lockdown is not necessarily the first choice.
"It really depends on if we can safely evaluate if it is safer to stay in your rooms or go some place safer," she said. "At Virginia Tech, it was decided it was safer to stay in the dorms. It really depends."
Communication and cooperation
In the case of Monday's massacre, authorities are still investigating Virginia Tech's response rate and implementation of its protocols. While Saint Mary's is willing to employ every method of communication to alert students, Gariepy said notifying students too early could also be dangerous.
"It is hard to put out a notification with something like a shooting unless we really and truly know what we're dealing with," he said. "If we don't know the facts, we could potentially alarm students when we don't have to."
Once the situation has been identified, however, Gariepy said the College would alert students in person, through e-mails, flyers and even an emergency toll-free number with regularly updated messages about the status of the emergency. This number is aimed more at parents, he said.
From there, the College notifies other agencies, including the St. Joseph County Police Department and Notre Dame Security/Police, to assist with the handling of the situation, Gariepy said. He said he is confident that these collaborations, combined with a calm and collected approach, will yield the best possible results for students.
"We [campus security] will stick to protocol at the present time," Gariepy said. "We always talk to the staff after events like this to keep it fresh in our minds, but, for the most part, we are going to stay consistent with our policies."
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Katie Kohler
2008-02-25
Kacey Beddoes
Christopher Hine <chine@nd.edu>
eng
Virginia Tech panel recommends security solutions for colleges
Issue Date:Friday September 7, 2007
Section: HeadLine News Section
By Kellen Henry, Staff Writer
Many students gathered for candlelight vigils and wore ribbons in support of Virginia Tech after the April 16 shooting. While most students did not fear for their lives on campus, they realized such a tragedy could just as easily occur in Morgantown.
Last week, a panel appointed by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine reported findings on the shooting rampage by student Seung-Hui Cho that killed 32 people in Blacksburg, Va.
The report presented more than 70 recommendations to advise law enforcement, school officials and medical personnel.
They also intended to help other colleges choose proper security solutions for their own campuses.
This week, West Virginia University officials announced a plan to send mass text messages in an emergency. The University will also provide better quality lighting in key pedestrian areas such as sidewalks between the Downtown Library Complex, the Mountainlair, the PRT and residence halls.
The panels' report criticized Virginia Tech's emergency response plan because it lacked guidelines for a shooter scenario and did not allow police to play a major role in emergency decision making.
"We don't see that as an issue here at WVU. As the first responders here, it makes sense for us to have an active role," said Chief Bob Roberts of the University Department of Public Safety.
Administrators here began revising its policies in December 2005 to align it with the federal Department of Homeland Security's National Incident Management System. The University's new plan will be unveiled in October said Becky Lofstead, executive director of internal communications.
It will include emergency training for students and staff and job action checklists. There is a Web site planned for relaying emergency information, Lofstead said.
At Virginia Tech, police had no means of sending emergency alerts themselves and also failed to warn the administration that a gunman could still be loose on campus.
The initial emergency e-mail and phone alerts to students and staff came too late and were too vague to be effective, the report found.
"Warning the students, faculty and staff might have made a difference," the panel wrote. "So the earlier and clearer the warning, the more chance an individual had of surviving."
With a large student body sprawling between two campuses, WVU sees the dire need to refine its emergency alert system.
The Tech panel advised a multi-level alert, for instance alert sirens that signal students to check texts or e-mails for emergency updates.
The Virginia Tech shootings also reinforced the importance of solid mental health care for students and faculty.
The panel found that university and health officials did not coordinate information and intervene efficiently after concerns surfaced about the shooter.
"No one knew all the information and no one connected all the dots," the report said.
WVU's Carruth Center for Counseling already tries to communicate information while protecting privacy, said director Catherine Yura. A crisis committee joins counselors with resident life, police and student affairs representatives.
"What we do is discuss situations that come up and try to understand if it is something to be concerned about," Yura said.
kellen.henry@mail.wvu.edu
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Original Source: The Daily Athenaeum
<a href="http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?&story_id=29759">http://www.da.wvu.edu/show_article.php?&story_id=29759</a>
Kellen Henry
2008-02-18
Kacey Beddoes
Leann Ray <Leann.Ray@mail.wvu.edu>
eng