CUPD Assesses Campus Safety
By Sarah Singer
Sun City Editor
Apr 18 2007
<i>Cornell responds to recent tragedy at Virginia Tech</i>
Yesterday, several university officials hosted a media call-in where they discussed safety and security on the Cornell campus in the aftermath of Monday's shooting at Virginia Polytechnical Institute. The participants were Curt Ostrander, chief of Cornell University Police, Greg Eells, director of counseling and psychological services for Gannett, Tim Marchall, director of mental health initiatives for Gannett and Tommy Bruce, vice president of University communications.
Although the tragedy in Virginia did not pose an immediate threat to Cornell's safety, Eells said he had "some concerns" about the safety of all college campuses during this frightening time. "Traumas like this can make students' own problems more clear to them," he said.
"We have heightened the police presence around residential areas," said Ostrander, "and we are being especially attentive to all of campus as well."
Although the University is in a heightened state of security, according to Ostrander, anticipating the exact measures it would take if faced with a crisis situation similar to Virginia Tech's is difficult, but confidently stated, "we have the plans and procedures in place to deal with situations like this," he said.
"We would dispatch a multiple officer response," he continued.
Ostrander said that the CUPD "assesses the campus every six months" to ensure its high level of safety for students. He also said that there are "training programs in place for resident hall directors on what to do in dangerous situations. We can track who enters and leaves the dorms, and can implement a lockdown if necessary," he said.
This effort to maintain a high level of security on campus extends beyond police efforts. Eells emphasized a number of educational initiatives that involve "working with residence halls directors to identify students and reach out to students if they are struggling," he said.
He could not outline the specific steps that a counselor would undertake when helping a student as he said such would have to be determined "on a case-by-case basis." However, Ostrander emphasized that if students encounter a physical threat at any time, "they can receive information from the dispatch at any time."
Bruce stressed, "student to student programs are extremely important on campus at times like this." Although he is confident in the University's ability to handle emergency situations, Ostrander said that Cornell's large size does pose complications when faced with a situation that warrants a school-wide lockdown that would affect 250 major buildings and approximately 30,000 residents.
The last shooting that occurred at Cornell was on Sunday, Dec. 17, 1983 when 26-year-old Su Yong Kim of Queens, New York shot and killed two freshmen girls, Young H. Suh '87 and Erin C. Nieswand '87, roommates living in Low Rise 7. Kim was Suh's ex-boyfriend. He arrived at Suh's dorm at 11:30 on Saturday night, and Kim unwillingly agreed to see him.
After threatening Suh and other dorm residents in her room, Kim agreed to let everyone besides Suh and Nieswan leave the room. The residents immediately called the police, who said the shots were fired at about 11:50 p.m. He used a rifle with a silencer attached.
After murdering both women, Kim killed himself, according to an article in The Sun.
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Original Source: <a href= http://cornellsun.com/node/22971>Cornell Daily Sun - April 18, 2007</a>
Sarah Singer
2007-07-10
Sara Hood
Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
eng
Alums Recall 1983 C.U. Murders
By Felicia Daniels
Sun Staff Writer
Apr 19 2007
Brenda Scinto '87 was in her bedroom studying in 1983, when two freshman women, Young Hee Suh '87 and Erin Nieswand '87, were fatally shot in the room above her by 26-year-old Su Yong Kim. Scinto said she does not remember much about that year academically, but 26 years later, she remembers everything about that particular Saturday night. Monday's shootings at Virginia Polytechnical Institute brought back a flood of memories for her.
"It was incredibly violent, an event that no one in that dorm that night or in dorms around us will ever forget," Scinto said.
Kim, who was not a Cornell student, invaded the North Campus dorm Low Rise 7 on Saturday, Dec. 17, 1983 armed with a rifle. According to Scinto and police reports, Kim arrived at the dorm and confronted Suh and Nieswand in their room after Suh refused to see him. Scinto called Kim an "obsessed admirer and stalker of Suh."
"We all heard him come in through the back fire escape stairs. Those doors were supposed to have been locked but everyone kept them propped open, and that's how he got in. He came in through the fire escape stairway and entered the suite above me," she said.
Less than 30 minutes later, Scinto heard gunshots as Kim murdered Suh and Nieswand. She then heard footsteps as he fled back down the staircase.
Though only two people lost their lives, the incident had potential to be even more traumatic. Kim held five additional students hostage in Suh's room before releasing all but the two roommates.
Joel Melby '84 lived on the floor below and remembers how much uglier the situation could have turned. "It was only because the man's primary target, a quiet, shy, freshman girl, persuaded him to let most of the others go. Her bravery saved the lives of all but herself and her roommate. What if she hadn't found the courage to do so?" he asked in a comment on The Sun's website.
"What if" is a question many students are asking as they worry that shootings like the ones at Virginia Tech could happen at Cornell, and whether or not the University could handle such desperate conditions.
Evan Kalman '08 does not feel any college is "equipped to handle a major situation." "You can criticize [a school's] lack of security, but not their lack of action. If there is a murder on campus you could say, 'stay in your rooms,' but I guess that can't really prevent anything either," he said.
Isha Tohill '08 believes the events at Cornell in 1983 and the Virginia Tech murders emphasize holes in security at all college campuses. She said it was a mistake for Virginia Tech not to take any immediate precautions after the first shooting other than sending an e-mail two hours later stating that a shooting had occurred.
"I know it's a big school, but they should have had people patrolling the whole campus, especially since they didn't know where the shooter was," Tohill said.
Scinto found it frustrating watching the coverage at Virginia on Monday. She also criticized the delay in reporting the first shootings since technology is now better than it was in 1983. There was no e-mail sent in 1983; information was spread through word of mouth and over landline phones, Scinto said.
"When the hostages were released in Low Rise, the resident advisors were immediately told what was going on and within minutes the police were there, buildings all over campus were locked down and police caught him within two miles of the dorm," Scinto said. "I don't know what the time frame is when administration was notified about the first shootings, but it had to be before two hours."
Still, some students believe it is impossible to stop acts of violence and that something could happen at Cornell again or at any other college. Tohill said it is hard to prevent violent situations on campus, "unless every single building has card access that changes every semester according to who has classes in those buildings, and even then it's not fool proof."
According to Kalman, a false sense of security will leave colleges vulnerable to attacks."You're not quite home in Ithaca, but you're very much not in the real world," he said.
While the Virginia Tech community mourns 32 students and teachers, Cornell continues to offer condolences and support. Some are shocked from a distance, others personally affected by the rampage, but all share grief as many members of the Cornell community have friends and relatives attending and working at Virginia Tech.
Though Cornell students were certainly affected by such a recent horrific event, many Cornell students are likely unaware of the University's tragedy decades ago.
In a post on The Sun's website, Melby urged students not to become so far removed from the Virginia Tech tragedy that they forget the event "beyond the prayers and the tears."
He stated, "Please don't believe that it couldn't have happened on our campus, because it already has."
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Original Source: <a href=http://cornellsun.com/node/23016> Cornell Daily Sun - April 19, 2007</a>
Felicia Daniels
Cornell Daily Sun
2007-07-10
Sara Hood
Jonny Lieberman <jdl46@cornell.edu>, <lieberman.jonny@gmail.com>
eng