Following the recent murderous events on the campus of Virginia Tech University, local students, faculty and administrative staff reacted by expressing shock and regret at the unfortunate events while left pondering what such events may mean for the future of security and higher education in America.
In a prepared statement sent via email on April 17, the day immediately following the event, TAMIU President Ray Keck, III responded to the tragedy.
“The University is saddened to learn of the senseless tragedy that transpired yesterday at Virginia Tech University and joins the nation in expressing our condolences to the families of those killed and injured,” Keck stated.
Keck’s email also drew specific attention to the immediate measures being undertaken to ensure the security of the TAMIU campus and the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and staff.
“A senseless tragedy of this nature can never truly be anticipated, but we believe that advance preparation and a total commitment to diligence can create as safe a campus atmosphere as humanly possible,” Keck added.
According to TAMIU Police Chief, Felipe E. Garza, the University already has explicit contingency plans in place which specifically address events such as those occurring on the campus of Virginia Tech. In fact, protocols addressing, both, active shooters and bomb threats are expressly delineated as part of TAMIU’s all-encompassing crisis management plan -a plan last revised in August 2006.
Other contingencies addressed as part of the plan include building evacuations, crisis communication, fires or explosions, hostage situations, mental health crisis and suicides.
Garza pointed out that the University’s entire 80-page Crisis Management Plan is readily available through the TAMIU police website at http://www.tamiu.edu/adminis/police/documents/Clery2006booklet.pdf
In light of the fact that at least two of the murders occurring at Virginia Tech took place at a student dormitory building, an immediate response was also issued by Michael DeJager, assistant general manager of student housing. A two-page communiqué was distributed to all RLC and Village residents containing information on student counseling services and urging students to notify university police in the event of a crisis.
According to Mary R. Chavez, a counselor with TAMIU’s Student Counseling and Disability Services, there have, thus far, been no incidents of students seeking assistance from her department for issues specifically associated with the events at Virginia Tech. She added, however, that her department remains committed to providing counseling assistance whenever such services are requested or required.
Regarding the police department’s role or function in reacting to suspicious events or individuals on campus and the importance of reporting them, Garza pointed out that it is, in fact, an essential part of the entire crime prevention process.
“We ask that the university community report those kinds of situations to us,” said Garza, “while not everything may be against the law … we can start documenting those facts.”
According to Garza, the documentation process is an important key in building an actionable case based on intelligence reports received by the department.
Commenting on the recent upsurge in violence seen at America’s high school and college campuses, Dr. Richard D. Hartley, associate professor of Criminal Justice, maintains that despite the fact that these types of events appear to be occurring more frequently, a statistical examination of the facts shows that such events remain, nonetheless, a rare phenomenon.
“Honestly, if you want to break it down, students are more likely to die in a car accident traveling to or from school than from something like that,” said Hartley.
“If you look at the research, 98 percent of the schools in this country are safe,” Hartley added.