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Virginia Tech
massacre raises safety issues
(June
2007 Issue)
By Ami Albernaz
In the wake of the shootings at Virginia Tech in April, universities
around New England have been evaluating their policies and procedures
with an eye toward taking all possible steps to prevent a similar
incident from occurring. Flurries of discussions immediately following
the shootings have given way to longer-term planning and ongoing
conversations about how best to ensure the safety of students and
faculty.
"It's important to talk things out and to try not to rush into
knee-jerk responses," says Harry Rockland-Miller, Ph.D., director
of mental health at university health services at the University
of Massachusetts-Amherst. Like officials at other schools, Rockland-Miller
believes his university already has many good mechanisms in place,
including solid communications systems within student affairs and
student life and 24-hour emergency access to police and mental health
and student services.
"We're all working together, but recognize that we can't control
everything," he says. "We might not be able to avoid someone who
is so intent on doing that sort of action, so we have to be humble
in that sense."
Kevin Culley, director of safety and risk management at the University
of Rhode Island, says a committee there is looking at gaps in Virginia
Tech's security to see if any adjustments should be made at URI.
Technical communications systems are one key area in which changes
are being considered.
"I think every university suffers the same thing," he says. "There
are thousands of students in dozens of buildings and it's almost
impossible to communicate with everyone." He adds that in addition
to voicemail, email and the university Web site, the idea of using
air raid sirens to alert students in the case of an emergency was
also suggested. "But I don't think we'll go in that direction,"
he says.
How to alert students to their messaging devices is also under
discussion at the University of Maine, where a steam whistle from
a steam plant on campus is being considered. "We asked what would
be a great way to direct students to their technologies - voice
mail, email, et cetera," says Dean of Students Robert Dana, Ed.D.
"We tested the steam whistle after many years, though we're working
out exactly how we'll use it."
In some schools, practices, policies and procedures regarding troubled
students are also being scrutinized. At the University of Connecticut,
a Students Concerns Assessment Team composed of members of residence
life, counseling, mental health services and other campus bodies
meets every two weeks to discuss troubled students or safety issues.
The school also has a system in which any concerns - from faculty,
residence life and the police, among others - are reported to a
central place, the dean of students' office.
"We need a 360-degree view of a student," says Lee Burdette Williams,
Ph.D., dean of students. "Smaller schools do this well. In big schools,
though, there's often not a single clearinghouse or incidents go
unreported."
UConn administration is now developing a policy for involuntary
leave of absence for students who appear to present a danger to
themselves. The policy - new for the school - will be, in some ways,
similar to a code of conduct policy that governs students presenting
a threat to others.
UMass also has an involuntary leave policy for students who present
"an imminent threat," though it is not often used, Rockland-Miller
says. He adds that he is wary of any practice that might prevent
students from seeking out campus mental health services.
"Students' ability to speak with us in a confidential way is the
foundation for what we do," he says. "We have mechanisms in place
so that if someone presents an acute risk to him or herself or others,
we have to step in and take action … but any erosion to confidence
other than that might actually harm safety, since the fear that
parents might be called might prevent students from coming in."
At URI, a policy addressing troubled employees is being matched
to one dealing with troubled students. "Anybody could be troubled
at any time," Culley says, adding there is one gap in the current
policy that school officials are working to fill.
Officials realize that despite taking all measures possible to
avoid a tragedy like that which struck Virginia Tech, there is no
completely foolproof way.
"We have a very comprehensive approach to crisis management, but
the most important part is creating a connected community among
the student body, so students are caring for each other and the
community," Dana says. "If it looks like someone is in trouble,
students should feel free to say that person needs help."
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