Editorial: Prioritizing campus safety
October 14, 2015
On Oct. 1, Christopher Harper-Mercer fatally shot nine people and injured nine others in a rage-filled attack on Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.
With this event still very fresh in everyone’s mind, it begs the questions: What if this happens at San Diego City College? Are students, staff and faculty prepared? Is there a plan?
Memories of evacuation and disaster drills are far gone in most of the minds of current City College students and most students currently have no experience with drills dealing with active shooter situations.
In light of this recent tragedy, it’s evident now more than ever that City College needs a plan. Not a plan that’s talked about through email to administrators and never really put into action but a plan that’s known by students, staff, faculty, administrators and everyone who attends City on a regular basis.
A YouTube video entitled “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT. Surviving an Active Shooter Event,” linked to San Diego Community College District’s staff and faculty in an email by Chancellor Constance M. Carroll, shows three different ways people can deal with a potential active shooter situation.
In the Oct. 1 email, Carroll said that this particular video was discussed and distributed in departmental and campus meetings, which would mean that this issue would have been discussed long before the recent shooting in Oregon.
Why wasn’t any of this information or this video shared with students?
According to the 2014 edition of the City College Fact Book, the campus had 16,737 students in the spring 2014 semester. With thousands of students spread out over an open campus spanning 60 acres, you would think that some type of disaster preparation drill would have been shared with students at this point.
Students are usually told to just to report suspicious activity to the Campus Police or the San Diego Police Department wherever and whenever they see it on campus. The population at City College needs something more than “alert the police.” Alerting the proper authorities is a great idea, but we need to be aware of what else we can do when a major catastrophe happens. We need a plan of action. We need to have some ideas on what we can do during potentially dangerous situations.
The “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.” video should have been shared with students. Not just shown and discussed at campus and departmental meetings. Showing and discussing with administration doesn’t really help if something were to happen on campus.
At the end of the day, it’s better to have a plan and not use it than to be left unprepared if something happens at City College.
Lori Saldaña • Oct 15, 2015 at 9:30 am
First- Thank you for these observations.
Sadly, the Oregon shootings reminded us yet again of the need to be aware of, and ready to respond to, deadly attacks like this. And while it is necessary to be prepared, it is also painful to have to consider that someone we work with, or attend classes with, may suddenly try to inflict harm and attack people we know and care about, in places we would like to believe are safe.
I agree that sharing the video with students is a smart idea. It can stimulate important discussions about defense tactics, escape strategies, and staying safe when under attack- not only on campus, but in any situation where a person is threatening to harm and kill people without warning or provocation.
And in addition to reviewing this video, I suggest SDCCD students sign up for the FREE Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) training that will be offered- free of charge- to women in a few weeks, at City College Oct. 24 & 31, and at North City Campus Nov. 7 & 14.
This is training on how to avoid and respond to an assault. It requires 12 hours of instruction, including physical training, and takes place over 2 weekends. (I completed the course last year, and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to feel more confident and prepared to avoid, or deal with, an assault.)
Finally: I was a student at Mesa many years ago. I’ve worked for the college district for nearly 40 years, in various capacities and on several different campuses. When I received the link to the video, I stayed after class and watched it, after my students had left for the day. It made me consider what escape routes we would take, or hiding places we might have, under a threatening situation.
I will share the link with them, and encourage them to consider what they would do under such circumstances, whether in our classroom, or in other locations.
Thank you again for your commentary-
Lori Saldaña
Professor, Business Information Technology
Cid • Oct 15, 2015 at 12:27 am
Great idea!