Are we really safe on campus?

By Amanda Seef
NEWS EDITOR

It would be naïve to think that the events that transpired Feb. 14 at Northern Illinois University could not happen anywhere. Although the College at Brockport has plenty of procedures in place to ensure the most protection available, readiness and understanding of major campus safety and emergency plans is key.

Comparatively, our campus does not have an astounding amount of violence occurring within our corridors or sidewalks. However, the amount of violence on campuses such as NIU or Virginia Tech held the same, or lower, records of violence in the past five years. Four cases of aggravated assault have been recorded on or near Brockport’s campus since 2001.

The most secure place on campus seems to be the residence halls, which have a stringent security system in place. Residence halls can only be accessed by a swipe of a college ID card, which verifies that the individual lives in that particular building. There is a resident assistant on duty at the main office in each lobby from 8 p.m. to midnight weeknights, and until 2 a.m. weekends.

“Although the campus is a safe place to live, there is always the potential for crime,” the safety report of the Your Right To Know handbook states. “Residence hall students should not be lulled into a false sense of security. We all need to be aware of our environment and the possible consequences of our behavior.”

One major consequence could be the allowance of a potential criminal inside a building. With approximately 200 students living in each residence hall, the RA or Resident Director can not monitor each individual entering the building 24 hours a day.

“Dorm rooms should be reworked a little,” Brockport Student Government Vice President Randall Franklin said. “I think University Police does a good job patrolling, but they are a little excessive. We really need to work on dorm security. It’s very easy for people to get in.”

While we may be safer while we sleep, college students need to be aware of their surroundings while attending class. The Brockport campus is open to the public, and anyone may come onto campus as they wish.

“Universities in our country have always been places of openness and the College at Brockport is no exception,” President Halstead said in an e-mail to the college community. “We have been a very safe campus; yet we are not immune from emergencies or irrational acts. Nevertheless, I want to assure you that our College leadership has worked diligently on updating emergency preparedness and campus security.”

Most colleges and universities do not have lockdown policies in effect, although most secondary education institutions do. To lockdown an entire college campus is not logical, nor feasible, considering the amount of buildings and students on campus. Typical lockdowns would constitute locking the classroom door and students huddling in the corner of the room farthest from the door and opposite windows.

Currently, individual classroom doors in most academic buildings do not lock from the interior of the room and many remain jarred open. However, most professors receive keys from the departments to lock and unlock doors from the outside of the room. The main doors to academic buildings are not able to lock from the inside due to fire codes.

“Our classrooms were built when there was not a concern or need for doors to lock from the inside,” Kehoe said.

Without a lockdown procedure in place, University Police must focus on emergency notification, with which the administration of SUNY has assisted. The SUNY-NY alert system has provided students, faculty and staff with a means of contact while in the midst of a campus-wide emergency. To register for the program, visit the Campus Information System.

With the Brockport high and middle school in close proximity to the college campus, it will be decided by University Police what to do if an incident does occur at either schools. University Police Chief Kehoe said that their department is consistently in contact with Brockport Police, as well as the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

“We would know about [an emergency] and make a decision on how it could potentially affect our campus,” Kehoe said. “[UP] has received state of the art training for responding to these situations in a quick and effective manner.”

Firearms and dangerous weapons of any sort are not permitted on campus, and many laws are currently in effect to prohibit the sale of dangerous weapons to minors or potentially dangerous individuals. There are currently 16 gun dealers with a Federal Firearms License within 10 miles of the Village of Brockport. All dealers must submit checks on individuals wishing to purchase guns at gun shows and permits are required of any individual wishing to purchase a handgun.

An online gun dealer sold a handgun to the shooter at Virginia Tech, as well as magazines and a holster to the NIU shooter. Many criticize the online sale of firearms due to the increased violence across the country, and more specifically, on college campuses.

However, many are pushing for the legality of carrying a firearm on campus. Supports cite that an armed concerned student would be capable of “taking down” another armed, dangerous student.

As many work to help make class more secure, others look into the psychological makeup of potential criminals. The latest school shooter was deemed “normal” by many who knew him.

“The College has established a Behavioral Assessment Team, comprised of campus experts, that meets weekly to discuss and track difficult student behavioral issues that may impact our community,” Halstead wrote.

The tragedies that have occurred on academic campuses — from Columbine to NIU — have reflected onto the level of security on our own campuses. The administration is consistently working together, and with other schools, to safeguard our community and encourage the employment of Emergency Management Teams. The primary mission of the college, however, continues to be student success.

“There is not a solution to prevent these kinds of things anywhere in the world,” Kehoe said. “If people are crazy enough to want to engage in conduct such as that, there is no way to prevent them.

“All we can do is be trained, equipped, prepared and ready to respond as quickly and effectively as we can.”