04.17.07
A sad, sad day
I talked with my oldest daughter last night in the wake of the shootings in Virginia. Many of us think, how could it have taken so long to notify the students and faculty that there was a problem? Didn’t they have an emergency plan? Had no one ever thought something might happen and there would come a need to close down the University?
I am sure we will see ongoing dialogue in the days/weeks/months to come regarding this issue. I expressed my concern and confusion re. the security/notification system on her University, Humboldt State. She brought some things to the conversation that I was unaware of.
1. There are no phones in the classrooms at Humboldt State. Therefore you could not send out a mass phone alert.
2. There is no alarm system to notify of a serious problem. No bells, no PA in each room.
3. There are computers in every room and the powers that be can send out an immediate notification to each computer…but what if no one is looking? Would people just think it was a hacker’s prank?
4. With the campus sprawling and open to anyone, it would be very easy for something like this to happen there.
5. Drills? Would a University take time to run a drill so students know what to do? In our elementary school they have fire drills, silent drills, stay and defend drills. Is there anything like that in Universities?
We send our ‘adult’ children off the college worried about binge drinking, date rape and drugs. Up until yesterday, mass murder was not on my list of worries. As a parent, after the Colombine shootings, I had that tough talk with my then high school age students. What would you do if that was your school? How would you react to a crazed student with weapons? Where would you go? It was a good diaglog and I was saddened that I had to bring something so ugly into the forefront of their minds.
Our world has changed, as we all know. But I think we’ve forgotten just how ugly a single act can be. My thoughts go out to those who have been touched by this very ill young man. Tragic, that is the word that comes to my mind.
Peace….